EAST BRIDGEWATER, MASS. (WHDH) - The mother of a young bicyclist who was hit by a car in East Bridgewater said that her daughter, who was pushed at least 60 feet by the car, is okay.
The crash happened Sunday night and was caught on security cameras. Police released the video to the public in hopes of locating the driver, who was wearing hospital scrubs when she briefly got out of the car then drove away.
“The video was awful to see,” the victim’s mother said. “I just don’t understand what took so long for the vehicle to stop, and then to get out and not even apologize.”
The victim’s mother shared images of the 11-year-old girl’s injuries, which are a scraped elbow and a bruised thigh.
“She is definitely shaken up from the incident,” she said. “She was very scared thinking the driver wasn’t going to stop.”
The police chief said the person at the wheel was trying to take a shortcut through the Central Elementary School parking lot. When she saw the gate to Route 18 was locked, she turned around and hit the 11-year-old bicyclist.
The victim’s mother said her daughter reacted quickly.
“She said she was kicking the bike into the front of the car, so that’s really what saved her body from being severely injured,” she said.
Two days after the crash, the police chief said the driver, a 62-year-old traveling nurse from Florida staying with relatives in East Bridgewater, turned herself in.
“I just want to thank the East Bridgewater Police Department,” the victim’s mother said. “They did a great job at handling the situation.”
The driver is now facing charges of negligent operation of a car and leaving the scene of an accident.
The victim’s mother is relieved.
“I’m glad the driver turned herself in, and I think she deserves what she’s been charged with,” she said.
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