Boy Critically Hurt as Car Hits Bicycle

A 14-year-old Irvine boy was on life-support systems Tuesday after a car carrying six teen-agers ran a stop sign and struck the boy on his bicycle, police said.

David Leidal was listed in critical condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, suffering from major head trauma, Irvine Police Sgt. Gary Shull said.

The accident occurred when a 17-year-old driver and five passengers in a 1974 Volkswagen, apparently on their way to school, were traveling east on Michelson Drive toward Yale Avenue.

Leidal was bicycling south on Yale when the driver of the car failed to stop at the stop sign and struck the bicycle broadside, Shull said.

“Leidal and his bike were catapulted easterly across the intersection about 87 feet,” Shull said.

The Volkswagen then continued across the intersection and struck a 1985 Dodge Caravan that was turning right onto Michelson. The 45-year-old driver of that car was not injured.

The Volkswagen driver, whom police did not identify because of his age, and a 14-year-old passenger were treated for minor injuries at Health Care Medical Center in Tustin and released.

Shull said the driver was exceeding the speed limit of 25 m.p.h., but he did not know exactly how fast the car was going. The accident remains under investigation.