15-Year-Old Benicia Boy Dies When Bicycle Strikes Street Pole

BENICIA - A 15-year-old boy died Friday in Benicia after his bicycle crashed into a street pole, a police lieutenant said.

Nathan Smith, a Benicia High School sophomore, was riding east in the 500 block of Rose Drive shortly before 1:55 p.m. Friday when he lost control of his bicycle and hit the pole near Dempsey Drive, Benicia police Lt. Scott Przekurat said.

Smith was riding without a helmet to a skate park with a friend on the first day of the school's spring break. He was going about 25 mph on a downhill slope and was unable to make a left turn.

A passerby reported the crash, Przekurat said.

The bike struck a galvanized metal pole for a No Parking sign.

Benicia Fire Department paramedics gave first aid at the scene, and Smith was taken by ambulance to Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center where he died, Przekurat said.

-Bay City News, image via ShutterStock