Rider of ‘pocket bike’ hit by SUV

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2004 | 11:16 a.m.

An 11-year-old boy riding a motorized "pocket bike" was airlifted to a local hospital Monday night with a broken leg, and the boy's parents as well as the driver of the vehicle were all cited, Metro Police said.

The accident happened about 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Maryland Parkway and Pyle Avenue, when a woman driving a Honda sport utility vehicle westbound on Pyle waited until a bicyclist had reached the median and then entered the intersection, traffic officers said.

The bicyclist was the boy's father crossing Maryland southbound, Sgt. Steve Wholey said. The SUV driver told officers she did not see the boy on the 20-inch scooter and thought the father was signaling her to drive through the four-way stop sign. Pocket bikes, which look like motorcycles, are close to the ground and run on two-stroke engines, going up to 35 mph.

The boy was wearing a helmet. After the collision, the boy's black tennis shoes and black helmet lay on the pavement.

The child was airlifted to University Medical Center, but his injuries were not life-threatening, officers said.

The SUV driver was cited for failing to yield the right-of-way and the boy's parents were cited for allowing the child to ride the motorized scooter without a license, without registration and without insurance.

While pocket bikes have become a popular parking lot sport for young and old, officers said it is illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to drive one. The mini-motorcycles are banned from practically everywhere in Las Vegas.

Pocket bikes aren't allowed on streets because they aren't built with the necessary safety equipment required of motorcycles and mopeds, such as standard lights, horns and mirrors, Wholey said.

"They're like a lawnmower," Officer A. Underwood said.

Monday's pocket bike accident occurred one day after a 4-year-old girl was struck by a car while riding her bike, apparently unsupervised, about 5:30 p.m. Sunday on the 2300 block of Constantine Avenue, near Eastern and Washington avenues.

Police said the girl rode her bike into the street from behind a parked car and into the path of a 1995 Saturn. The driver slammed on her brakes, but could not stop in time and struck the child, police said.

The girl was improving Monday morning and her injuries were not considered life-threatening, authorities said. Her mother, Juanita Rodriguez, 36, and the mother's live-in boyfriend, 44-year-old Venacio Solorio, were arrested on felony child abuse and neglect charges.

In June 2003, 5-year-old Tyler Santos was killed after crashing his 50cc mini-dirt bike into an embankment at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.