WATERVILLE, ME : A boy who struck a car while riding his bicycle on Tuesday, June 6, 2017

A young boy was taken to the hospital by ambulance Tuesday afternoon after the bicycle he was riding on Western Avenue crashed into a car.

The accident occurred at 2:57 p.m. as the boy, 11, of Waterville, was riding his bike east on Western Avenue, came down a hill and hit the left rear of a car at the end of a driveway, according to Waterville police Sgt. Jason Longley.

Longley said the boy was taken by Delta Ambulance to a local hospital. The child was complaining of some pain, according to Longley, but he said he was not sure of the extent of the boy’s injuries.

The car’s driver, Edgar Avila, 38, of Waterville, said he was backing out of the driveway, saw traffic coming and stopped, according to Longley. The bike’s left handlebar then struck the left rear taillight of the car, he said.

However, the boy told police he was riding down the hill on his bicycle and then the car backed out.

“We’ve got two slightly varying stories,” Longley said. “In my opinion and (that of) the officer who was there, where everything more aligns with the gentleman’s story, … we believe that’s probably what happened.”

Longley said it looked as if the only contact between the car and bicycle was the bicycle’s left handlebar and the car’s left rear taillight, which had a scuff on it.

At the scene, the small green bicycle was lying in the road near the driveway that Avila said he was backing out of in a 2016 Chrysler 200 four-door sedan. Area residents came out of their homes and stood on lawns and sidewalks to watch what was happening.

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Avila said he was backing the car out of the driveway, saw traffic coming and stopped the car, and that’s when the bicycle struck the car, scraping the light.

“My car was parked right here,” Avila said, pointing to the end of the driveway. “He was flying down the road and struck the back side of my car. All I heard was a boom. I said, ‘What the hell?’ He had a good fall.”

Alisha Stevens, 15, who was with several other children outside the house where the driveway is located, told Waterville police Officer Tim Hinton that she had seen the accident.

“I saw the kid just kind of slide into the car,” Stevens said. “I think he freaked out more than anything. The car wasn’t moving. He (the boy) was, though.”

The children said they know the boy, who lives nearby and rides his bicycle to school.

Waterville firefighters also went to the scene.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17


A Waterville police officer takes photos of the scene where a child struck a car while riding his bicycle Tuesday on Western Avenue in Waterville.
A Waterville police officer takes photos of the scene where a child struck a car while riding his bicycle Tuesday on Western Avenue in Waterville. Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans
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Waterville boy, 11, injured when bicycle crashes into car