Teen riding bike to Clearwater High School suffers critical injuries after getting hit by car: Police

16-year-old critically injured biking to school

FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports on a 16-year-old boy who was taken to the hospital on Friday morning after suffering potentially life-threatening injuries. Shortly before 6:40 a.m., he was struck at Keene Road and Cleveland Street biking to school.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A teenager riding his bike to Clearwater High School on Friday morning was hospitalized with critical injuries after police say he was hit by a car.

What we know:

It happened shortly before 6:40 a.m. at the intersection of Keene Road and Cleveland Street.

Police say the teen was trying to cross the street when he was struck by a car that was traveling south on Keene Road.

The teen was taken to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries, according to the Clearwater Police Department.

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Investigators said they believe the driver was following the rules of the road and there were no signs of speeding and impairment.

"It's a very unfortunate circumstance," Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said. "Preliminarily, it looks like the bicyclist may have entered the roadway against the light."

Dig deeper:

Neighbors say they heard the sirens and came outside their home to see the intersection blocked off.

"We just saw the car was crashed out here," Jolene Lisowski, who lives nearby said. "We saw the bicycle way out in front of the car."

Lisowski and her husband say they’ve seen a number of serious crashes at this intersection and in this area.

"This is a pretty awful intersection," Mickey Lisowski said.

He says he’s stopped riding his bike in the area because of the high volume of traffic and the number of crashes they’ve seen.

A teen on his way to high school was hit by a car on Friday morning in Clearwater.

"That's exactly why I pick our grandson up," Jolene Lisowski said. "He gets dropped off right down the street and I pick him up to bring him home because we don't let him walk across Drew, or even across here to come to our house."

Police say there are crossing guards that work the intersection of Keene Rd. and Cleveland St., but they weren’t on shift at the time of the crash.

"It was about an hour before they come on post, because we staff them for the elementary school that's two blocks away," Gandy said. "So, he was headed to school an hour before the guards get on post for the elementary school nearby."

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As of mid-day Friday, police said the 16-year-old boy was in critical condition at the hospital.

Police are still investigating the crash. They believe the driver was following the rules of the road and that there were no signs of speeding or impairment.

"It's a reminder to drivers," Gandy said. "Always be alert for anything unexpected. But, more importantly, for the pedestrians. A lot of times, we have bicycles leave the safety of the sidewalk to try to make it through intersections or make it across a road, and I think the important reminder is, even if you have a crosswalk signal that says it's okay to cross, look both ways."

What we don't know:

Police have not released the identity of the teen who was hit by the vehicle.

The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Clearwater Police Department and interviews conducted by FOX 13's Kylie Jones.

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