MONROE - A 7-year-old Monroe boy was treated and released Tuesday after narrowly missing being struck by a pickup truck on a residential street. In the process, the child learned a lesson about bicycle safety, and his mother, something about the compassion of Monroe's emergency first responders.
At about 5:45 p.m., Jacob Benkert was riding his new bike, an early birthday present, along a sidewalk near his home in the 1200 block of 10th Street, when he tried to turn onto 10th Street from the sidewalk on 14th Avenue. He couldn't negotiate the turn, his mother, Denee Benkert said, and rolled into the path of an oncoming pickup truck.
"I couldn't (turn) fast enough," Jacob Benkert said, as he recovered at home Tuesday night, following an ambulance ride, precautionary tests at the hospital, and a meal from Culver's.
Jacob said he was able to jump clear of the truck's front end just in time.
"It sounds like the bike hit the truck," said Denee Benkert. "Jake was more worried about telling me he wrecked his bike than anything else."
Not long after the ordeal was over, Denee Benkert said she was outside talking to a neighbor about how much she appreciated the police, firefighters and EMT personnel who responded to the incident, when a man pulled up and approached.
It was Monroe firefighter Tony Anglin; Benkert said he came to check on Jacob, and to deliver a few messages from those who were at the scene earlier:
"He said 'always wear your helmet'," Denee Benkert said. "He wanted Jake to come to the annual firefighters pancake breakfast in October and ride on the firetruck. And he had a $100 bill for a new bike."
The money was collected from the various personnel on the scene, she said, and was a welcome surprise, given that the damaged bike was only a day old.
"It's totally amazing to me that they'd do that for us," she said. "I just want everyone to know what good people they are."
Jacob had been wearing his helmet earlier in the day, but at some point before the crash, had taken it off, she said.
At about 5:45 p.m., Jacob Benkert was riding his new bike, an early birthday present, along a sidewalk near his home in the 1200 block of 10th Street, when he tried to turn onto 10th Street from the sidewalk on 14th Avenue. He couldn't negotiate the turn, his mother, Denee Benkert said, and rolled into the path of an oncoming pickup truck.
"I couldn't (turn) fast enough," Jacob Benkert said, as he recovered at home Tuesday night, following an ambulance ride, precautionary tests at the hospital, and a meal from Culver's.
Jacob said he was able to jump clear of the truck's front end just in time.
"It sounds like the bike hit the truck," said Denee Benkert. "Jake was more worried about telling me he wrecked his bike than anything else."
Not long after the ordeal was over, Denee Benkert said she was outside talking to a neighbor about how much she appreciated the police, firefighters and EMT personnel who responded to the incident, when a man pulled up and approached.
It was Monroe firefighter Tony Anglin; Benkert said he came to check on Jacob, and to deliver a few messages from those who were at the scene earlier:
"He said 'always wear your helmet'," Denee Benkert said. "He wanted Jake to come to the annual firefighters pancake breakfast in October and ride on the firetruck. And he had a $100 bill for a new bike."
The money was collected from the various personnel on the scene, she said, and was a welcome surprise, given that the damaged bike was only a day old.
"It's totally amazing to me that they'd do that for us," she said. "I just want everyone to know what good people they are."
Jacob had been wearing his helmet earlier in the day, but at some point before the crash, had taken it off, she said.