Preteen Boy Seriously Injured in Pedestrian Crash

A 12-year-old boy is clinging to life at a local hospital after a vehicle hit him as he crossed the street in a November 2025 crash.

Deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s station in Poway responded to reports of a crash just before 8:30 a.m. The incident was reported just east of the intersection of Twin Peaks and Espola roads. According to deputies, a 12-year-old had been hit by a vehicle that was headed westbound in the 14100 block of Twin Peaks Road. Multiple witnesses told deputies that they saw the juvenile running across a part of the roadway that was not a pedestrian crossing.

No further details were available.

Pedestrian Injuries

Unlike vehicle occupants, pedestrians are completely exposed to danger during collisions. When large, fast vehicles unexpectedly strike them, pedestrian victims usually sustain serious injuries like:

• Head Injuries: When cars or trucks strike pedestrians, the force of the impact usually propels these victims through the air. When they land, their brains slam against the insides of their skulls. Because dead brain cells don’t regenerate, the resulting impact causes permanent damage, driving up the cost of future medical treatment.
• Broken Bones: Extreme impacts usually cause extreme broken bones which are more like crushed bones. Doctors must use metal parts, like screws and plates, to surgically reconstruct these bones. The more extensive, and expensive, medical treatment requires more extensive, and expensive, physical therapy.
• Internal Injuries: Head injuries and broken bones are relatively visible injuries. Internal bleeding, on the other hand, is mostly invisible. Since internal organs don’t have protective skin layers, tiny abrasions cause massive blood loss. This gradual blood loss is hard to spot and hard to stop.

These injuries are very costly. The average hospital stay is over $3,000 per day. If doctors do something besides monitor patients, the daily cost increases significantly. For liability reasons, most group health insurance plans don’t cover injury-related costs. Most families cannot possibly afford to pay these expenses out of pocket. The financial stress increases the physical stress, trapping victims in a downward spiral.

A Carlsbad personal injury lawyer reverses this cycle. Attorneys connect victims with doctors who focus on injury-related conditions. These doctors usually charge nothing upfront for their professional services, easing financial stress and hastening the healing process.

Legal Issues

Accident-related medical bills must be paid eventually. So, a Carlsbad personal injury lawyer must address the legal issues in a pedestrian crash to obtain compensation for victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Drivers have a duty of care to avoid accidents, including pedestrian accidents, if possible. Drivers breach their duty of care when they drive aggressively (speeding, etc.) or while impaired (intoxicated, etc.). If that breach of duty substantially causes injury, compensation is available.

There’s a difference between a substantial cause and an exclusive cause. If the victim’s behavior contributed to the crash, compensation is usually still available.

However, the sudden emergency defense may apply in a few pedestrian accident claims. That’s especially true if the victim was jaywalking. The sudden emergency defense has two basic elements:

• Reasonable reaction to
• A sudden emergency.

Most drivers reasonably react to most pedestrian crashes. Most drivers stop, render aid if possible, and remain at the scene until first responders release them.

However, a jaywalking pedestrian usually isn’t a “sudden emergency.” Instead, a sudden emergency is a hood fly-up or another completely unexpected situation. A child who runs out into traffic is hardly a completely unexpected situation.

Count on a Savvy San Diego County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Carlsbad, contact the Pursley Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Golden State.

Source:

fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/east-county/12-year-old-struck-by-car-in-poway/