Update 5/16:
Evanston Hospital released the 11-year-old boy this week who suffered a broken leg and fractured skull after beign struck by an SUV last Thursday on Central Avenue in downtown Highland Park, Pioneer Press reports.
Update 5/14:
Pioneer Press has new information about the Highland Park boy who was hit by an SUV Thursday on Central Avenue.
The 11-year-old was bicycling with a friend two blocks from his house when he was struck by a car driven by 41-year-old Highland Park resident Jennifer Foos, who lives in the 3100 block of Lexington Lane.
Foos' husband, David, told Patch in an email that the boy was not wearing any protective gear.
"He was riding his bicycle through a very busy traffic area with no regard to his surroundings," David said in the email.
According Pioneer Press, the child waited till traffic had stopped before attempting to cross from south to north at Second Street. The driver was heading west from Second Street towards Green Bay Road. She was cited with failing to yield in the pedestrian right-of-way.
A witness and Foos both immediately tried to help the boy, who lost consciousness on the street, Pioneer Press reports. The boy, who lives at 1600 block Second Street, was transported to Evanston Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a broken leg and fractured skull. He's in stable condition.
Earlier:
A boy was transported to a hospital Thursday after getting hit by a vehicle while riding his bike along Central Avenue, Pioneer Press reports.
The vehicle struck the boy as he was nearing Second Street late Thursday afternoon. A witness told Pioneer Press that the boy's bicycle and one of the his shoes remained at the scene after he was taken to the hospital.
As the father of kids who are often walking/biking in town and an HP driver myself, this news hit me with an emotional cocktail of horror, anger, relief, fear, sympathy, etc. That included empathy for the driver, until I read her husband's comments this morning. David Foos writes, “the boy was not wearing any protective gear as mandated by city code… was riding his bicycle through a very busy traffic area with no regard to his surroundings…[and] the dent on my wife's car is on the left side panel of the automobile which indicates that the young boy ran into her not her running into him...” Where do I begin? First, according to the HP News, the police saw it quite differently, saying “the driver was cited with failing to yield in the pedestrian right-of-way…both children properly entered the intersection at the crosswalk after vehicles in both directions had stopped….[the victim] was lawfully in the crosswalk and there was no indication that he did anything wrong.” See Part Two below…
Second, the dent on the left side of the car is consistent with hitting someone while making a left turn. Finally, David’s blaming of the victim, A CHILD RUNOVER BY AN SUV, for violating city code, not paying attention, and hitting the car, not the other way around, is offensive beyond words. Just like all those rape victims who are at fault for leading their attackers on, right David? I can only imagine how infuriating David's comments must be for the victim and his family to hear. The facts are that what Jennifer Foos did was criminal and she is responsible for seriously injuring a child, and what David Foos has written is unconscionable. What a repugnant man. In no way do the Foos represent the Highland Park I know and love. Here’s to a speedy and full recovery for the victim, his friend, and their families and friends.
I genuinely hope that the family of the the boy who was hit does not read the callous words of a man who is only concerned with placing the blame on someone else.
"he was riding his bicycle through a very busy traffic area with no regard to his surroundings" Let's correct that. "He was riding his bicycle through a very busy BUSINESS DISTRICT with heavy pedestrian traffic, with careful regard to stay inside a crosswalk so notorious for drivers not yielding to pedestrians, that last year, the city resorted to further emphasizing the need to STOP FOR PETE'S SAKE by adding new signage pointing out that, uh, in busy shopping districts pedestrians have the right of way, so stop and be alert. He attempted to cross using the crosswalk, which should've protected him, but not in Highland Park. Perhaps we need a pedestrian overpass at that intersection so drivers never have to stop at all except to block traffic for five minutes waiting for a spot directly in front of the store they're going to. Or, we could do what I've seen other communities do-- have "stings" where plain clothes officers put ONE FOOT into the crosswalk and any car that proceeds without yielding is then ticketed by a uniformed officer a block or so up the road. Barring that, we could all agree to stop mid-crosswalk and glare at drivers who don't yield. It'd be nice to think that maybe NOW, the insane SUV drivers downtown will straighten up and start obeying basic traffic laws and displaying some courteous driving instincts. But that'd be naive. Why should they ease up just because one of our kids got hit?
Everyone should wear a helmet while biking. I began riding again perhaps 10 years ago and always wear a helmet - for my own safety, but even more so as an example to my children and others. It seems that wearing a helmet had become pretty well accepted, but that not wearing one has become more the norm for our children the last few years. Parents and the police need to more seriously insist that children wear helmets while biking. Let's keep our children safe - make it important that they wear helmets while biking!
It is obvious that you are very close to this family...and from what I can see, the gossip (if there is any) is not about Jennifer - it's about her husband's reaction.
I go through four way stop signs several times each day in Highland Park. It's supposed to be simple. You 1) Stop, 2) Let pedestrians cross, 3) Let perpendicular traffic that arrived first cross, 4) Take your turn. Never. I mean never. Have I seen anything like Highland Park. The inability (or refusal) of drivers here to adhere to this basic traffic law is astonishing. Hence the extra signage downtown that's still being ignored. Do ALL Highland Parkers do this? No. But as a percentage of the population and of "failed" intersection crossings, I'd say, yeah, Highland Park and its drivers qualify for a "Worst" list out there somewhere. Get to Highwood frequently, thanks. Lake Forest and Lake Bluff seem to do okay with their 4-way stops. Wilmette could slow down, but I guess that's what all the speed bumps in that town are attempting to solve. The best drivers get in horrible accidents. I've been in accidents. But I do try to observe basic laws of the road. As for Highland Park women in SUV's? Again, it's a percentage of the population. A high one. More often than not, when I see driving in town that is particularly oblivious, aggressive or inconsiderate, a woman in an SUV is the culprit.
I sincerely admire your sticking up for the other side of this. So you know, that's why I made a point of talking about Highland Park drivers and stop signs. They endanger our community and make it less of a pleasant place to live every time they get behind the wheel. If we stop accepting that "it's just the way people drive in Highland Park" maybe it will change. The first step, though, is to call it out for what it is. I have no idea what Mrs. Foos was or wasn't doing, what kind of day she was having, whether the sun was in her eyes or whether the kid had some part in the accident. And it was an accident. I just can't help wonder whether the callous driving culture of Highland Park contributed to it. If instead, our culture was one of careful and absolute deference to pedestrians (in the crosswalk or not)-- and such driving cultures do exist in many urban areas-- my suspicion is that crosswalk would've been a lot safer that day.
I think everyone understands that this was an accident and Mrs. Foos is deeply sorry and remorseful for what happend. But you're not helping the Foos family by attacking each person who made a comment you didn't like. In fact you're prepetuating the situation. You talk about people spreading rumors but what people were doing with their comments was SPECULATING about what may have happened. There's a difference, and people have a right to do that. I'm sure if you had no connection to Mrs. Foos you would have speculated yourself. You obviously have a close relationship with the Foos family even though you say you don't. How else would you know that "this is the worst this woman has ever felt in her life"? And any "rumors" out there about this situation regarding the husband, David are not rumors at all. He made those ridiculous comments on this site, all on his own about the boy having no regard for his his surrounds and not wearing a helmet. And then in another Mr. Foos comment where he ends it with "facts people". Stupid. Just stupid comments. How can you defend that PO? He deserves every nasty comment posted here. At least he had the sense to finally shut the heck up. Although I wonder how many times his wife had to scream at him to stop typing.
How can you also say "there is no blame"? Of course there is blame. When someone stops at a stop sign, then makes a right turn and gets into an accident with a pedestrian in the next crosswalk of the street they're turning onto, the blame is with the driver. You also state that "Mrs. Foos was NOT on the phone, NOT texting, and had no distractions whatsoever". Really??? No distractions? How do you know this??? And is that even possible at all? How else would this have happend? The boy ran into the driver's side front corner. Mrs. Foos HAD to have been distracted because she obviously didn't see the boy on his bike right in front of her on her left as she was turning. Listen, I agree with you about this being a terrible situation for both families. But there is blame and I'm sure it will be dealt with.