A mother is seeking help in locating a vehicle that struck her 13-year-old son, leaving him injured, while he was riding his bicycle in a crosswalk in Crystal Lake.
Crystal Lake resident Stefanie O’Halleran told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that her 13-year-old, Bryce Ledet, was hit by a vehicle around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The incident occurred while the boy was riding his bicycle through the marked crosswalk at the bike trail along Midlane Drive north of Spring Ridge Drive in Crystal Lake.
The vehicle, an older model gray Toyota sedan with some rust on it, fled the scene after striking Ledet in the Woodland Estates neighborhood.
The child was evaluated by paramedics and then taken to an immediate care center for minor injuries, O’Halleran said.
Ledet suffered abrasions on his face, an abrasion to his knee and a badly sprained thumb.
“The car hit more of the bike than him. Most of his injuries came from the fall,” O’Halleran said.
The mother said she is asking anyone who lives in the area who witnessed the crash or has video that could help to reach out to the Crystal Lake Police Department.
O’Halleran spoke to the police department on Thursday and they had not identified the driver.
Officers are increasing patrols in the neighborhood and working to narrow down the car through the use of an automated license plate camera system.
O’Halleran said her other teenager, who is a year older than Ledet, was hit by a vehicle on Route 176 between Route 14 and Ridge Avenue in August.
The motorist involved stopped to make sure the child was fine after being clipped by the car’s mirror.
O’Halleran said her older son’s best friend was hit in May and seriously injured in Wonder Lake. He was transported to the children’s hospital and underwent surgery.
“The driver took off and as far as I know, never found that person. These kids aren’t running around foolishly in the streets, they are riding their bikes on the bike path, riding to the gas station to get a Pepsi and walking down the street to go to band practice,” she said.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Richard Neumann told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that he was “limited on details that can be released” due to those involved and the active investigation.