The family of a teen boy who collided with a garbage truck while riding his bike to school is now calling for better protections for cyclists in the city of La Mesa.
“He has nightmares from the accident, and it’s horrific to see him in the middle of the night, screaming out like he’s getting crushed by the truck again,” Caleb Carvalho's mother, Jocelyn, said.
It’s been more than one month since Caleb collided his bike with a garbage truck on University Avenue near La Mesa Boulevard.
His mother said the accident changed their lives forever.
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“We don’t know if he’ll ever get to play sports again. We don’t know if he’ll be able to walk like he could or run like he could,” Jocelyn said.
But the family is hoping Caleb’s story inspires change and stronger safety measures for cyclists.
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“There isn’t enough safety for bike lanes for our youth, especially around the schools,” Jocelyn said.
There were painted bike lane corridors when Caleb’s accident happened, but now his family is asking city leaders to make improvements to prevent further accidents from happening.
Colin Parent is a council member for the city of La Mesa. He also runs Circulate San Diego, a nonprofit that advocates for street safety. Parent says they recently published data about crashes in every city, including La Mesa.
“One of the things we did find in that report was that University Avenue is one of the more dangerous corridors in both in the city of La Mesa and in the city of San Diego," Parent said.
But he said they’ve been taking swift action to make cyclist safety a priority.
“A better solution is to have actual, physical barriers between the bike lanes and the automobiles. That’s something that we actually recently voted on to create a different segment of the road on La Mesa Boulevard, which is, I think a much better and more modern standard that we should try to do everywhere,” Parent said.
He said they’ve also lowered the speed limit on streets where traffic was going too fast and added crosswalks and stop signs in areas that needed it.
Meanwhile, Jocelyn said she’s encouraged by her son’s resilience.
“But all in all, Caleb is doing amazing, and his personality, his attitude towards life," she said. "He tears me up when he’s like, 'It’s OK, mom. I’m just going to be hopeful for the future.'"
A fundraising event for Caleb is taking place Sunday at Curbside Eatery and Drinkery in La Mesa from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
His mother said they’re also hoping to use the money raised towards a family car that can accommodate Caleb’s needs. The family has opened up a fundraising account to help with other expenses.
