As a bicycle accident lawyer, I must report on so many horrible events, in the hope that we may learn from them and improve the safety of our community. This can make my blog more often than not very negative. Well, I am happy to report that out of one tragedy and disaster arises a little bit of inspiration. Orion Benson, a 10 year old who was struck while riding his bike to school, is expected to make a full recovery from his life-threatening-injuries, and his mother, Sandy Benson, is giving part of the credit to the heroic acts of the San Leandro police department.
Benson, who describes her son’s recovery as a “little miracle” says that the police officers were there to support her, offering their personal time, and money, to ease her family’s suffering in their darkest hour.
Officer Chris Albert rode with young Orion to the hospital, and stayed with him until her mother was driven to the hospital personally, by Officer Tom Rogers. All of this after Sgt. Troy Young provided first aid to Orion at the scene, and spent his off-duty time delivering clothes to Orion to replace the badly damaged ones from the crash.
The three officers returned later in the week to visit with Orion and his Mother, going “above and beyond” as described by Benson.
The car vs. bicycle accident occurred earlier this month, when a motorist who did not have a valid drivers license, struck Orion while he was riding his bicycle in a crosswalk,knocking him off his bicycle, and causing injuries that appeared fatal to onlookers.
Police say that his bicycle helmet may have been the only thing that saved Orion that day.
Preliminary investigations show the driver to be at fault; investigators are reconstructing the scene and will continue to evaluate the event to determine whether any criminal charges should be filed.
Regardless of outcome, there is a long road ahead for Orion and family. To help them cope with the financial burden of such a tragic accident, a family member has started a gofundme site, where they are accepting donations to assist with Orion’s recovery, and other related expenses. The gofundme site can be found here: http://www.gofundme.com/rj3rgpz4.
Hello, I’m Claude Wyle, a San Francisco bicycle accident attorney. Have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered here? Feel free to contact me or visit www.ccwlawyers.com
