Boy, 11, dies after collision with C-Tran bus

UPDATE:

Here is a press release from the Vancouver Police Department:

The investigation into yesterday’s collision between a CTRAN bus and an 11 year old bicyclist is continuing. The boy who died as a result of the collision is Benjamin Fulwiler.

The Vancouver Police Traffic Unit is conducting this investigation and is asking any possible witnesses who have not already come forward to contact Traffic Investigator, Ofc. Jeff Olson, at (360) 487-7478. No further information on this investigation is available at this time.

UPDATE: KATU-TV has reported the boy is Benjamin Fulwiler, from information provided by an aunt. Authorities have not yet provided the name of the boy.

The C-Tran driver was Deborah Knox, 59, said C-Tran spokesman Scott Patterson. He said she has been with C-Tran for about five years and has a clean driving record except for a minor collision with another C-Tran bus in the C-Tran lot. He said damage was about $100. She is on paid administrative leave, Patterson said.

Original Story:

An 11-year-old boy riding his bicycle was fatally injured Saturday in a collision with a C-Tran bus at the intersection of 27th and Main streets near downtown Vancouver.

The boy, whose name was not released Saturday, lost his left arm and suffered other serious injuries in the crash. He died later in the day at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland.

The accident occurred at 1:42 p.m. Saturday. C-Tran bus 2210 on Route 37 — from Highway 99 to downtown and then to Fisher’s Landing — was southbound on Main Street. The boy was riding south on the east side of Main Street, against the flow of traffic, and was crossing 27th when the bus turned left onto 27th, and the two collided, said Capt. Scott Willis of the Vancouver Fire Department.

The impact severed the boy’s left arm, Willis said.

Three bystanders, including an off-duty emergency room nurse, assisted the boy at the scene, Willis said. He was found lying at the rear left side of the bus, he said.

“He was conscious but not very responsive,” Willis said.

The boy was transported by AMR ambulance to Legacy Emanuel with two AMR paramedics and three Vancouver firefighters, including two paramedics, Willis said.

The boy was initially reported as being 13, but later confirmed to be 11. His mother had been nearby when the accident occurred, Willis said.

Ten passengers were aboard the bus when the accident happened, said C-Tran spokesman Scott Patterson.

The cause of the accident is unknown and remains under investigation by Vancouver Police Department’s Traffic Unit.

The bus driver’s name was not released Saturday, but she was put on paid administrative leave, a routine procedure when an accident is being investigated, Patterson said. He said C-Tran is cooperating with Vancouver police and would not make any more comments about details of the accident.

“All of us at C-TRAN are saddened by such a regrettable accident” said C-Tran executive director Jeff Hamm in a statement.

Detectives marked off a block of 27th Street between Main Street and Broadway with yellow crime tape Saturday, framing the scene of the unoccupied bus and a blue bicycle crumpled at its rear. A single tennis shoe lay nearby. Detectives measured parts of the bus and crawled beneath it to search for evidence.

A trauma intervention team had been dispatched to counsel bystanders and passengers, Willis said.

Onlookers

The dramatic scene near the popular Dairy Queen was witnessed by diners, who discussed news reports as they ate ice cream and hamburgers in the restaurant’s outdoor seating area.

On 27th Street, Rachel Fouts-Carrico of Vancouver was picking up her two children from a friend’s after going to an appointment. Her son, 7-year-old Gabriel, rode his bicycle around the two women and Fouts-Carrico’s 11-year-old daughter, Marley, as they discussed the accident.

“By the time we came out and saw the commotion, the ambulance had already left,” said Ellie Martin, Fouts-Carrico’s friend.

Fouts-Carrico said the accident was chilling, given that her own children play and ride bicycles near that intersection.

“We always remind them about crossing safely,” she said. “We always want them to be aware that even though they looked once, they need to look twice and be aware of their surroundings.”

Saturday was the second time in less than six months that a C-Tran bus has been involved in a traumatic collision with a bicyclist or pedestrian. Margaret McCluskey, 88, was hit and killed by a C-Tran bus Dec. 2 as she crossed the intersection of Eighth and Washington streets downtown.

Paris Achen: 360-735-4551; http://twitter.com/Col_Trends; http://facebook.com/ColTrends; paris.achen@columbian.com.