Tracy Press

A middle school student is stable but has a broken neck after he was hit by a car Friday when he rode his bicycle into traffic on Grant Line Road.

A Monte Vista Middle School student is in stable condition after he was hit by a car on his bicycle Friday night.

Eric Cordero, 14, broke his neck after he rode his bicycle into traffic at Lincoln Boulevard and Grant Line Road on Friday, and was flown by helicopter to San Joaquin General Hospital. He has since been moved to the Children's Hospital in Oakland.

He was riding his bike across the Grant Line Road crosswalk, his grandmother Becky Cordero said, but instead of crossing all the way to the Lincoln Boulevard crosswalk, he cut across one corner and got hit. His little brother was right behind him and saw the whole thing.

“Initially the injuries were believed to be serious,” city spokesman Matt Robinson said. “It has now been determined that the injuries are not life-threatening.”

Police at first thought the boy would die, Deputy Chief Rick Golphin said today. But that the kid wore a helmet “probably saved his life,” he added.

Police blocked off traffic near the intersection for two hours on Friday for the helicopter to land. Cordero is not paralyzed, his grandmother said, but will undergo surgery today to fix his broken neck. He should be in the hospital for a week to 10 days.

“They said he’ll do OK,” she said, “but that he’ll never play professional sports or anything.”

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written by ConcernedParents , May 12, 2008

Thank goodness for the helmet and that the child is okay.

There are a lot of accidents involving autos, motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards & pedestrians in Tracy lately everybody really needs to look both ways and slow down please.

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written by LawDog , May 12, 2008

My heart and payers go out to your family, I hope your sone makes a fast and healthy recovery.
I said a prayer for you today
and I know God must have heard.
I felt the answer in my heart
although He spoke not a word.

I didn't ask for wealth or fame
I knew you wouldn't mind.
I asked for priceless treasure rare
of a more lasting kind.

I prayed that He'd be near you
at the start of each new day
to grant you health and blessings fair
and friends to share your way,I asked for happiness for you,
in all things great and small,
but that you'd know his loving care
I prayed for most of all

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written by ccc , May 12, 2008

yes thank god for helmets. But parents please talk to your kids about safety, too many times i have seen kids j-walk or bike ride in middle of the road and sometimes dart out of nowhere. Driver also drive the speed limit to many speeders also especially on lincoln after school they even tailgate me because i'm driving the speed limit and they seem to be in a hurry.

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written by concerned born and bread Tracyite , May 12, 2008

Thank god for this. This conflicts with the polic log a bit though. How can a person be given a blood transfusion and be sent via Medi-Flight and then be stable? This boy must have Angels all around him. Please be careful while driving and while walking. There have been too many accidents involving children and pedestrians lately.

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written by tracybikeridder , May 12, 2008

This accident happened right in front of my apt. I thought for sure he was in critical condition. Yes this child is truly blessed. I ride a bike quite a bit in Tracy, at least 10 miles a day. I have been hit once and nearly hit to many times to mention, at least once a day by people just not paying atention. The people that sicken me the most are the ones that buzz me or throw things at me (bottles of water,ect). I've had people curse me and yell for me to get off the road while waiting in the bike lane for the light to change. People need to understand bicyclist must obay the rules of the road just as a car. We put our lives on the line every time we go out there. Please, look out for and respect bicyclist.

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written by Mariana , May 12, 2008

My son goes to Monte Vista and my heart dropped when I heard the news. Grant Line is a very busy street and kids must take extra precaution when crossing the street. I talk to both of my kids regarding Safety, especially Traffic safety. Please do the same.

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written by Dog , May 12, 2008

Heres proof that helmets work. Glad to hear the kid will be all right.

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written by Kaeeesha , May 12, 2008

Thank goodness he is ok.

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written by my home town2 , May 12, 2008

after seeing the damage to the bike and to the car just moments after the accident i thought for sure this kid was hurt beyond saving, wishing a speedy recovery to him, and hope this makes other kids think twice before darting out into traffic.

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written by justathought , May 12, 2008

wow - that is amazing - he had angels over him that day - i drove by and seen the bike on the car still. my mouth dropped - how tragic. please people talk to you children. luckily this boy wore a helmet.

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written by i spy with my lil eye , May 12, 2008

I wish this young man a speedy recovery, and hope that the driver well also. I am confused though about just where this "crosswalk" that the boy and lil brother were in when he got hit. I drive past the accident scene twice a day and there is NO legal crosswalk that goes across grantline where this accident took place. Now there is a crosswalk at the side street, but based on where the car that hit was stopped and where the Im guessing the lil brothers bike was left in the middle of the steet, thats not a crosswalk.
I saw on a blog the other day how someone almost hit a group of boys running across tracy blvd because they couldnt wait an extra 100ft to cross at the crosswalk.
HELMETS SAVE LIVES, IS YOURS ON?
Now if only TPD could get a task force together to enforce the helmet law, its great that they and CHP handed out over 500 free helemts on saturday but how many of those kids are wearing them now??

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written by LawDog , May 12, 2008

The next place where a kid to be hit is across the street from IGCG, parents are dropping their kids off North bound on Corral Hollow in the middle of the street. This morning when I dropped my kid off at IGCG, a parent dropped off his kid, as he ran across the meridian in to the street a car swerved and almost hit the kid. If this happens the parents should be charged with child neglect. Im sure we will all hear poor is me, my poor kid, we should parent faces child neglect for being a LAZY AS*.

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written by Jensen , May 13, 2008

Glad he's gona pull through. I was wondering what was up. Tracy Press, keep up the online artticals. They are so extremely useful for keeping up with the town's current events. I appreciate the time you put into this online blog deal. Good practice. I think I speak for a lot of other for that one.

Again, glad the kiddo is okay. Glad I got an update. Heavan knows I never pick up a paper to find this stuff out!

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written by Ms Hsiao , May 13, 2008

I thank God that Eric is OK. Instead of trying to lay blame on Eric or the driver, we should all agree that EVERYONE must take a little more care when they are out on or near the road. Wishes for a full and speedy recover to you, Eric! Mom, David, and grandma--thank you for the love and support you are givind Eric now. I hope to see you all soon!

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written by safety is what the children need to learn first , May 13, 2008

how many more wake up calls does tracy need?!?!
teenagers, drivers, and pedestrians all need to be a little more careful. im not blaming anybody in any of the situations but we need to take it easy! be careful, tracy!

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written by NARC , May 13, 2008

Yea I agree with you Hometown, Seeing that child on the floor was a feeling that I can believe is unimaginable and my heart just dropped when I seen him (I was heading the opposite way but seen the bike under the car, the shattered windshield and the child clutched in the arms of an adult)Thank god he is okay and I pray for a full recovery. We all need to be more aware of our surroundings and look out for everyone. Hopefully this will be the last incident in Tracy involving our children.

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written by Skinner , May 13, 2008

No god or angel intervened.

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written by notnice , May 13, 2008

Skinner.....is this your new "name" for Bill Johnson?

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written by !@#$%^ , May 13, 2008

Has anyone ever driven past West High School at 3pm?? I am shocked nobody has been hit yet, there are kids running across the median, parents stopping in the middle of the street to pick up kids, and I mean just stopping, so they can run infront of traffic to hop in the car. These parents and some kids do it every day, what will it take to make these people use common sense, in the past week we have had one kid die and one break his neck. They need to stop and think before someone else gets seriously hurt.

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written by Voice of Reason , May 13, 2008

I have no idea who was at fault in this accident, and thank God Eric wasn't killed, but either he should have been walking his bike across the street in the crosswalk or riding straight ahead with the traffic and not trying to take any shortcuts. I try my best to share the road with bicyclists, but more often than not they go by different rules. You can really tell one who follows the rules by watching him stop at stop signs or traffic lights, and you can tell one who is asking for trouble. A lot of bicyclists just slow down for stop signs or do a right, left, right turn to avoid them. I have seen many bicyclists riding on the wrong side of the street or on the sidewalk. The law is unclear when riding on the sidewalk is permitted. The big problem with bicycles, skateboards, and joggers is that they travel at a higher rate of speed than your average pedestrian, and sometimes they get to a place you don't expect to see them faster than you expect. For your own safety, even if you are in the right, watch out for automobiles because the driver may not be watching out for you. I too was hit on a bicycle when I was a kid, but wasn't hurt. I learned a lesson that has served me well. Hopefully lessons will be learned from this accident, but it is a shame that Eric will suffer the most. The rest of us bicyclists should learn a lesson without getting hurt.

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written by Kierkegaard , May 13, 2008

Voice of reason, you seem to ramble for no reason. Do you understand that the American character is in crisis, therefore, inconsiderate or reckless behavior is increasing? This will not change, and I suspect you will never know why.

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written by X's Mom , May 14, 2008

I seen the after affects of this accident and was wondering who! Not again I cried! I don't know what's going on here in Tracy but thank God the child will live and thank God the driver was not speeding! I saw a car with a bashed in windshield and thought the worst. I was looking for a shoe to be 30-35 yards away from the collision point or blood to be everywhere. Thank God is was not. I have to say, HATS OFF TO QUICK MEDICAL RESPONSE!! TRACY'S FINEST. This kid was truly blessed! I hope all goes well and I wish for a speedy recovery. God has the final say whether he will play(sports,etc). Love to all!

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written by maybenotdumBcommenT , May 14, 2008

Voice of Reason has a point Kierkegaard. The kid went into the street. I would never wish a bad thing to happen to anybody even if they made a mistake but you/we have to be careful with all the cars speeding around Tracy these days. I think V of R didn't ramble at all and made some excellent points; "should have been walking his bike across the street". "For your own safety, even if you are in the right, watch out for automobiles because the driver may not be watching out for you".

I'm not exactly sure I understand what you meant Kierkegaard. Not specific and to the point. Are you talking about the driver or the cyclist?

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written by OlSkooler , May 14, 2008

In a perfect world we would not need traffic cops..........

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written by fun1 , May 15, 2008

OMFG
Your name equates to the amount. to brain cells you have in that little pea sized brain of yours. Please, before you post again, go finish high school, concentrating on your english and grammer. I hate to say this, but you are the epitome of what every parent prays that their child will NOT turn out to be. I hope that you are not as ignorant as you come off in your post. Run along now, and go be a good kid and learn some respect, something I would hope that your mother and father taught you.

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written by fun1 , May 15, 2008

Sorry for the typo, I guess I should have used the spell check...but you get my point.

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written by maybenotdumBcommenT , May 15, 2008

OMFG, it looks real difficult to type stupid like you have. I spell check so others are not annoyed by dumb dumbs like you. You did it to be annoying obviously. The typing ways here are the english language. Hope you have your dictionary so you can understand what I have written. Or maybe you would put, "riten". Yep, red underline. Hey what do you know, "written" didn't show up as an option!

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written by fun1 , May 15, 2008

OMFG- I would love to respond to your post but unfortunately I do not understand ghetto talk. You need to clean up your act so that you can feel like you are making some type of positive contribution to this world. It must suck to feel like all you are doing is sucking up everyone else's air. But don't worry, there is hope for you as I have seen many cases where people have grown up.

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written by OMFG , May 15, 2008

U cant understand me cause dis is boss talk i be talkin son. I was born and raised in North Oakland....Any one got a problem wit dat dey can see me on da spot.

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written by OMFG , May 15, 2008

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written by Yayarea , May 15, 2008

I agree with omfg...Even doe i am from da east.... I still agree wit him....
Keep preachen my brutha.

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written by WTF , May 16, 2008

Listen here you Apes... get out of this town and dont come back until you learn engilsh. you think that its the way but we will see......... time is on "our" side... Have fun in "Da Joint"

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written by fun1 , May 16, 2008

OMFG- Oakland? no way!!! I would have never in a million years guessed that you were from Oakland!!! Geez, what was I thinking? The bottom line is, you come off as if you are an uneducated, ignorant thug. I guess for you that is something to be proud of huh? As for seeing ya on da spot, since I don't know where da spot is I won't be able to see you now, will I? Only small minded people and boys with little penises want to fight when they have no other way to effectively communicate. Like I said, go back to school and make something of yourself. Stand tall, stand proud....make yo mama happy. Have a wonderful day.

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written by WTF , May 16, 2008

OMFG - Do us a favor, Just ride a skateboard in traffic, its that easy........ "Boss talk mean standin front the whips that aint whoa!!" Wow im good!!!! I didnt even take ebonics in college.......