Teen critically injured after being hit by bus while riding bike with mom in Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- A Riverside teen was struck by a dial-a-ride bus while she was on a morning bike ride with her mother Tuesday.

The incident happened around 6 a.m. at the intersection of Central Avenue and Shannon Road, which was shut down as police began an investigation.

Laura Maldonado was one of the first people on scene after a 16-year-old girl on a bike was hit by a Riverside Transit Agency bus. The mangled bike rested in the roadway along with the teen's shoes that were knocked off by the impact.

"We were getting ready to start work and we heard her screaming, we all came running," Maldonado said. "She was conscious. She was trying to get up. The mom was on her, telling her not to move. She was bleeding a lot. Her leg was pretty twisted."

The teen was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Police said the girl and her mother were out on their bikes exercising when the crash happened.

The dial-a-ride bus that hit the teen only had one passenger inside. The driver and the passenger were not injured, but images from the scene show damage to the vehicle from the collision.

Authorities said the bus driver stopped, pulled over and tried to help the teen while he waited for paramedics to arrive. Maldonado said the driver could not stop crying after hitting the young girl.

Residents said Central Avenue can be treacherous for pedestrians and bicyclists because there is no sidewalk or bicycle lane. An RTA spokesperson said it is reviewing onboard surveillance video as part of its own investigation.