What's going on with the passive voice in the headline? Shouldn't it be something closer to "Automobile driver hits child with their car"?

What does it say about how we've structured our lives that we're blaming a middle school student for getting hit by a car, rather than the presumed adult driver of the car?

@Randy has it occurred to you that the cyclist may have hit the car while the driver was driving properly, or even while stopped? Whose fault would it be then? What headline would you have written in that case?

If that's what happened, the headline should say it. This smacks of tortured "officer-involved shooting" constructions, and it's disappointing for a former district trustee to be blaming the child here.

I may be a simple man, but shouldn't it be incumbent on the person operating the multi-ton vehicle to be responsible and careful with how they operate it?

Randy,

I agree with gcoladon, I have seen Graham students bicycling against the traffic, in the middle of Castro street, just passing El Camino Real, before the intercession of Castro and Church, literally putting the drivers in danger, against the traffic in the middle of the street and purposely driving in a way to cause a major accident. I couldn't believe it! I saw it!

I have no idea what happened in this instance, but if a bicyclist were to unexpectedly swerve into traffic without signaling or having the right of way and is hit by a vehicle, whose fault would that be in your opinion?

I think this article is appropriately agnostic as to the blame in this case.

As an avid bicycle rider (I don't own a car) I see my fellow riders behaving MOST inappropriately. Age should have nothing to do with it. Got a stop sign? STOP!

Come up to a red light? Ditto. STOP. If the light doesn't change in a reasonable amount of time treat it like a stop sign and go . . . WHEN IT IS SAFE.

Is it dark outside? Do you have lights on your bike?

There are remarkably few bicycle / vehicle accidents when one considers the foolish riding that goes on about and around town. Remember, cyclists, that the car ALWAYS has the right of way. ALWAYS . . . ALWAYS . . . ALWAYS. Why? They weigh more than you do. That's the Navy rule regarding right-of-way. The larger vessel ALWAYS gets right-of-way.

James, your right of way rules may be a pithy way to win an argument, but it's hardly a way to run a society. Does it apply to cars vs pedestrians? Bikes vs pedestrians? Big rig trucks vs cars? Adult pedestrians vs children?

Let's stop the victim blaming and think about if multiple children getting seriously injured by cars is really a reasonable situation.