Nanaimo 10-year-old hit by 2 cars while cycling

A 10-year-old boy is in the hospital with serious injuries after he was hit by two cars while biking in Nanaimo Thursday afternoon.

The Nanaimo RCMP says its officers received a report of a child who was riding his bicycle down a driveway off Howard Avenue and Nova Streets when he was hit by one vehicle, and then another.

Const. Gary O’Brien says the drivers of both vehicles are cooperating after incident around 4:45 p.m.

“A very traumatic situation for everybody involved,” O’Brien told CityNews. “Sadly, he was struck by a southbound vehicle. The force of the collision drove him into the other lane (and) he was struck by a northbound vehicle as well. Both drivers immediately stopped.”

Police confirm the boy was taken to the hospital in Victoria. O’Brien says investigators are “quite certain” speed, drugs, or alcohol are not contributing factors.

“It’s terrible. The driveways are steep, vehicles are prone to speed on that road. But in this particular case, speed does not appear to be a factor,” he said.

Mounties are now reminding the public to be “respectful of everybody involved,” with O’Brien asking folks to not “jump to decisions.”

O’Brien says RCMP Victim Services is actively engaged with the family and witnesses, but “if you are secondarily involved, please do not hesitate [to reach out]. It impacts everybody, and we take care of our own, we want to take care of the public also. We have services to assist you.”

-With files from Cole Schisler