Garden Grove : Cement Truck Strikes, Critically Injures Girl, 9
A 9-year-old girl was critically injured Tuesday when a cement mixer truck turning a corner struck the child on her bicycle, police said.
Theresa Berrie of Garden Grove was among a group of children on the northeast corner of Chapman Avenue at Valley View Street, waiting for the light to change about 1 p.m., said Lt. Ron Weigand. Alongside them was a stopped cement truck, westbound on Chapman Avenue, he said.
When the light changed, the truck began to turn right onto Valley View just as the victim started to ride her bicycle across the street, he said. The right front bumper struck the girl and pulled her under the tire, which ran over her pelvic area, he said.
She was airlifted by medical helicopter to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where a spokeswoman said she was in critical condition after surgery.
The driver of the empty truck, Gene Swank, 35, of Westminster, was not held, and an investigation is continuing, Weigand said.
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