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Driving Lesson Horror: Teen SUV Driver Panics, Kills 9-Yr-Old Biking On Sidewalk
By
Jen Chung
Published May 14, 2011
Modified May 14, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 14, 2011
Modified May 14, 2011
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A 16-year-old Long Island girl's driving lesson went horribly wrong when she jumped a curb and hit a nine-year-old boy biking on the sidewalk. According to Newsday, Nassau County Police Det. Sgt. Richard Callahan explained that the teen, who was in a Nissan Xterra SUV with her mom, "became alarmed Thursday when she saw an oncoming car in her rearview mirror and poorly negotiated a turn... When she noticed a car bearing down on her, Callahan said, she accelerated but made too wide a turn. Her SUV went up on the curb and hit Andrew Burrous of Floral Park, his mother and a parked Honda." The teen received her learner's permit two weeks ago.
Andrew's mother Kathy was further behind him and she told 1010WINS, "The car came from behind us and hit me on my left side, and went up on the sidewalk — hit him on the bicycle. I didn’t see what happened after that because the car spun me and I went down." And the Post reports, "The Xterra kept going and smashed into the rear of a parked Honda Civic. It landed on top of the vehicle. The teen driver, who had a learner's permit, backed off the car and parked across the street before getting out."
A neighbor who rushed to comfort Andrew said, "The boy was in shock, and he stood up right after he got hit. He just fell to the ground after that with his legs on the curb and his head in the roadway." The child had been wearing a bicycle helmet, but suffered internal injuries; he was pronounced dead at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
The teen driver was reportedly distraught upon realizing she struck the boy. Det. Sgt. Callahan said, "This was a combination of panic and inexperience," and said the girl would not be charged. But when speaking to 1010WINS, Kathy Burrous said she didn't know why a mother would teach her teen to drive in a residential neighborhood, "It's not the place to do it."
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Andrew Burrous
floral park
Learner's Permit
long island
Nissan Xterra
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teen driver
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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