Mercer Island High School senior, Ben Yu, was rushed to Harborview Medical Center at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10, after flying head-first off his bike into the back window of a Volkswagen Bug outside the MIHS senior parking lot. Yu was not wearing a helmet.

The accident occurred shortly after 3 p.m., as students were leaving school.

According to witnesses, Yu was riding his bike “really fast” down S.E. 42nd Street. The Volkswagen Bug, along with the car ahead of it, slowed to a stop for a pedestrian at the crosswalk of S.E. 42nd Street and 88th Avenue S.E. Yu squeezed the brakes of his bike, skidded on the wet road and struck the Volkswagen’s back bumper with his front tire. He was propelled over his bike and into the back window of the car, shattering the window’s glass with his head.

“I was going extremely slow, almost to a stop, and I heard this smash and a voice yell, ‘Help me,’” said the driver of the Volkswagen, Tokie Kelton.

Kelton’s teenage son, Glen, was in the passenger seat.

“We weren’t moving,” Glen Kelton said. “He didn’t stop on his bike for some reason and went right through the window.”

Kelton and MIHS freshman Kelly Grady, who witnessed the scene from the sidewalk, both called 911.

“His bike hit the car and then I saw his head go through the window. It seemed like he was riding pretty fast,” Grady said.

The Mercer Island Fire Department and Police Department arrived on the scene within minutes.

According to Mercer Island Fire Department Battalion Chief Shawn Matheson, Yu suffered trauma to the head and face, but was not in critical condition.

“He had some soft-tissue damage but he was alert and oriented,” Matheson said.

Yu was taken to Harborview Medical Center after being examined by paramedics. He returned home over the weekend.

MIHS freshman Ian Munro said that Yu often rides his bike to and from school and “never wears a helmet.”

Superintendent Gary Plano, who was present at the scene along with MIHS Principal John Harrison and Vice Principal Craig Olson, spoke on behalf of district administrators.

“This is a terrible tragedy for all involved. We send our thoughts and prayers to [Yu] and his family.”