4-Year-Old Motorcycle Passenger Dies, And Oh My God It’s Not Illegal To Have A 4-Year-Old On A Motorcyle

I’m usually the last person to blame anyone when horrible things like this happen – but I just can’t help it this time. A 4-year-old died this week when the motorcycle she was a passenger on collided with a tractor-trailer in Rancho Cucamonga. California has no passenger age restrictions for motorcycles. What the hell were these people thinking? What the hell is the state of California thinking?

From NBC:

Witnesses said the driver of the truck apparently did not realize the crash had occurred and continued going forward and in reverse with the motorcycle underneath it as it tried to negotiate the tight turn.

Witnesses screamed at the truck driver to stop.

“I ran and checked the baby’s pulse. There was nothing,” said Cheri Slocumb, who witnessed the crash and recalled the words of the man who was on the motorcycle with the child. “He kept saying, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. Breathe, baby.'”

The girl was pronounced dead at the scene.

That is heartbreaking – and I’m sure he feels awful and I don’t like to be the person saying How could you? when something like this happens, but, How could you? How could you think it was safe to ride with a 4-year-old as a passenger on a motorcycle? According to California law, in order to ride in a car, a child needs to be secured in a proper restraint system until he is 8-years-old. Why doesn’t the state of California have minimum age restrictions for motorcycles?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a child on a motorcycle and I don’t think I’m alone in being shocked that this is allowed to happen. Hopefully this horrible accident will remind California that they have forgotten an important piece of safety legislation. The only guess I have is that everyone assumes that keeping a child that young off of a motorcycle is just common sense.

(photo: Thomas Reichart/ Shutterstock)