12-Year-Old Boy, Man Hit By Suspected Distracted Driver
ANDOVER, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities boy is in the hospital after being hit by a distracted driver.
Jayden Peterman, 12, was out for a bike ride Friday night when a car struck him and his mother's boyfriend, 51.
It happened near 133rd Avenue Northwest and Thrush Street in Andover.
"I kept thinking, 'What made it sound so loud?'" Rosie Overbaugh, who lives near the intersection, said.
"I saw a little girl and she was crying and she was screaming, 'My brother, my brother.'"
That girl was 11-year-old Chelsi Peterman, who was also along for the bike ride. She was not hit.
"He has a bunch of scratches on his face, blood everywhere," Chelsi said.
Authorities believe both Jayden and the 51-year-old man were hit by a distracted driver, who was reaching for something in his car. Authorities say the 30-year-old driver also had a child with him in his vehicle.
After the crash, Chelsi ran to her brother who wasn't moving.
"I was saying, 'I'm right here, I'm right here. You'll be OK,'" she said.
Jayden was breathing and regained consciousness. He had been wearing a bike helmet that broke into pieces in the crash.
"Turns out that when he was hit he was thrown up and over the car. Landed on his head, but he was wearing a helmet," Greg Peterman, Jayden's father, said. "The helmet was cracked into three or more pieces, only hanging by the straps."
Jayden is in the hospital being treated for a pelvic bone injury. Authorities say it's a lesson of how something simple can make a difference between life and death.
"If he wasn't wearing a helmet he very well likely may not be here today," Anoka County Sheriff's Office Commander Brian Podany said.
The 51-year-old man suffered a concussion and was released from the hospital. Police ticketed the driver who hit them for inattentive driving. Speed and alcohol do not appear to be a factor.
