Biker charged after passing school bus, hitting child in Edina
A man accused of passing a school bus on his motorcycle before hitting a child has now been charged.
Eighteen-year-old Terrence Jacquise Mather-Lymon is charged with criminal vehicular operation due to gross negligence.
Edina police were called to the area of 55th Street West and Xerxes Avenue South at around 2:45 p.m. Monday on a report that a child had been hit by a motorcycle. There, they found the 10-year-old boy who’d been hit and a crowd gathered around him.
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Officers also learned the driver of the motorcycle was still at the scene and identified him as Mather-Lymon, according to a criminal complaint.
Witnesses told police that the boy had gotten off the school bus and was crossing the street in a crosswalk when Mather-Lymon’s motorcycle drove into the northbound lane to pass several cars and the bus, which had its stop arm out and its warning lights on.
The bus driver estimated Mather-Lymon was traveling 35 mph when he hit the boy, while Mather-Lymon told police he was going 15 to 20 mph.
Video from the bus showed the child was thrown around 30 feet from the collision, the complaint states.
The bus driver also told police he thought the child was dead or dying because of how violent the collision was.
The child was awake and making eye contact with medical personnel before he was taken to a hospital, but suffered abrasions to his head and a fractured leg that required surgery, the complaint states. The boy’s injuries weren’t determined to be critical.
When interviewed by police, Mather-Lymon said it was his first day driving the motorcycle and he thought the bus driver’s extended arm out the window was a sign that he could pass it, the complaint states. He later said he knew he shouldn’t have passed the bus and noted that he didn’t have a license.
If convicted, Mather-Lymon could face up to three years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
During a court appearance Thursday, Mather-Lymon’s bail was set at $50,000. His next court appearance is currently scheduled for May 12.