'You left me on the ground': Boy knocked to ground after vehicle speeds through intersection in Niagara
Police are still searching for the driver of a vehicle that sped through a stop sign in Niagara Region last week and hit a bike being ridden by an 11-year-old child, knocking him to the ground before leaving the scene.
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on June 11, near Confederation Avenue and Richmond Street in the City of Thorold.
Niagara Regional Police posted the video to social media Thursday afternoon.
In what appears to be dashboard footage from another vehicle, a car speeds through a stop sign at a residential four-way intersection as a child is biking through the crosswalk.
The vehicle appears to clip the bike, hitting its front wheel while it drives by. The child falls off the bike and tumbles towards the side of the road.
The Grade 6 student, identified by his mother as Nik Couture, sustained scratches and bruises to his arms and legs, but was otherwise physically unharmed. He told CTV News Toronto that a university student and some neighbours came to help him and gave him a cell phone to call his mom.
“I was telling her, I ran over to her and I hugged her and I was bawling my eyes out. I was crying and I got hit by a car and the guy didn’t stop.”
The boy’s mother was around the corner driving home from a friend’s house when she received the call. She said that when she arrived, her son’s bike was still in the middle of the road.
“You hit a child or anybody in that matter you stop. You make sure they are okay. You bring them home. You call the police. You be a human. You don’t just drive off,” Rieanna Couture said, adding that when she saw video of the incident, she “broke down and started crying.”
“Watching that video and my son telling me what happened are two different things. You know, kids always dramatize the story right, but watching that video, having that video of your child being struck by a car is a whole new level.”
Nik Couture said that while he understands if the car accidentally hit his bike, the driver should have stopped to help him.
“I get it if you accidentally hit my bike and help me up and try to call my mom and maybe walk me home, but you left me on the ground,” he said.
Nik Couture, 11, and his mother Rieanna Couture are seen in this photograph taken on June 18, 2021. (John Musselman/CTV News Toronto)
The boy said the steering on his bike is damaged, but he is just happy he was able to go home that day and hug his mom.
With files from CTV News Toronto's John Musselman
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.