At 2:35 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, two pedestrians and a bicyclist, two adults and a minor, were struck in the crosswalk in front of Idyllwild School.
California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Darren Meyer verified the time but his information was preliminary. Idyllwild Fire Department responded and transported one of the injured pedestrians to an off-Hill medical facility, according to Chief Patrick Reitz.
Idyllwild School Principal Matt Kraemer confirmed that Idyllwild School employee Misty Hitchcock had been struck. He was on his way to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs to check on her condition last week. Kraemer verified that the injury was to Hitchcock’s foot, a possible fracture, and that it was black and blue as a result of the impact with the car.
“Her bicycle was damaged,” said Kraemer, who carried it up to the school.
Kraemer also said the driver was from Norco and that his wife was in the car with him. Reitz said it appeared that the driver was concentrating on something farther down the road and did not see the pedestrians in the crosswalk.
Brandi Shaw also was in the crosswalk with her 4-year-old son and was struck. She said the car appeared to be moving slowly and that she saw what was coming. She said she threw her son out of the way of the impact. “I ended up on the hood,” said Shaw, who said she was in pain but that it was not major.
According to Meyer, Dan Bailey, 71, of Norco, was driving a 2010 Ford Fusion south on Highway 243 when he collided with Hitchcock, 46, of Idyllwild. According to the report, Hitchcock was crossing the street when broadsided by Bailey’s vehicle. At the time of the incident, she was wearing a bicyclist’s helmet. No drugs or alcohol were associated with the driver’s conduct.
At 7:30 a.m. also on Friday, Molly Porteous, 21, of Idyllwild, was driving a white 2003 Nissan X Terra southbound on Highway 243, ¼-mile north of Rock Glen Drive, when she made an unsafe turning movement causing her vehicle to hit a guardrail and overturn in the roadway. According to the CHP preliminary report, Porteous claimed sleep or fatigue might have contributed to the cause. With Porteous in the vehicle was Caitlin Burns, 21, also of Idyllwild. Neither requested medical transport, although both claimed injuries. The car was towed by Idyllwild Garage. No other vehicles or persons were involved.
