The fact that the 12-year old was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision with the Lexus no doubt lowered the severity of the injuries and is a stark reminder to us all of the importance of wearing bicycle helmets. Research into bicycle accident statistics indicate that wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of severe brain and head injuries by 66% to 88%, even when there is a collision with a motor vehicle. Because brain and head injuries are often catastrophic injuries severely impacting a person’s life and ability to perform basic bodily functions for decades and beyond, wearing a helmet while bike riding thus becomes critical.

Several days after the accident, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said that they were still unclear why the accident had occurred. The investigation continues, however, and the engineer’s cellphone has been taken into custody for analysis, and drone footage and other surveillance footage was also being analyzed. Officials had retrieved a data recorder, similar to the “black box” retrieved in airline crashes, from the train, but it had malfunctioned. A second data recorder, however, was later retrieved and is being analyzed for further clues into the causes of the horrific accident.