12-Year-Old on Electric Bike Struck by Car at Baker City Intersection

A 12-year-old boy riding an electric-powered bicycle was struck by a car Tuesday morning at the uncontrolled intersection of Eighth and Baker streets in Baker City, sustaining what police described as "minor" injuries before being transported by ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City.

Baker City Police Lt. Wayne Chastain said the collision occurred around 7:30 a.m. on March 17. He said police are investigating but had not yet obtained the names of either the cyclist or the driver. The intersection is uncontrolled, meaning no stop signs govern traffic in either direction.

Kylie Colvin-Rice, who lives at Ninth and Baker streets about a block west of the collision site, said she did not see the vehicle strike the bicycle. Based on what she observed before and after the impact, she said it appeared a blue Jeep had been driving south on Eighth Street toward Broadway while the boy was riding east on Baker Street. Police have not confirmed the make or color of the vehicle involved.

Colvin-Rice, a two-year resident of the neighborhood, said the crash reinforced concerns she has held about traffic on Eighth Street. "I see cars blazing through here every day," she said Tuesday afternoon. She said many children live in the area, though her own two are not yet old enough to ride bikes, and that drivers on Eighth Street routinely fail to yield to pedestrians and cyclists.

Those concerns are not new to the block. A neighbor who lives at the intersection had previously fashioned a bright yellow wooden sign reading "Kids" and placed it there, a homemade attempt to slow drivers where no official signage exists.

As of the time of the initial report, Lt. Chastain had not released details on whether any citations were issued or what caused the collision. The condition of the boy beyond the initial "minor" injury assessment was not immediately available.