This is why Merced police didn’t immediately lift the car off the injured boy

The 9-year-old boy struck by a car on Merced's R Street this week is expected to live thanks to the response of emergency personnel, according to police.

The boy, whose name has not been released, is in "critical but stable" condition and is "extremely lucky" to be alive after a car dragged him more than 50 feet, according to Lt. Jay Struble.

The child was struck on Thursday after he jumped into the roadway near R Street and Loughborough Drive, apparently in an attempt to avoid a flooded gutter, police said. He was pinned under the car when officers arrived.

There were some tense moments between police and some adults in the area who wanted to move the child, Struble said.

Officers are trained to be aware of internal injuries and to wait for personnel who can properly assist victims. They made the correct decision to wait and not risk making the injuries worse, Struble said.

"I do absolutely understand what (the adults) were trying to do but you have to understand that sometimes by moving a victim, you can cause damage," he said. "The officers were concerned that moving the child could cause the injury to rupture."

The boy was struck by a 2002 Toyota Camry turning right onto R Street, police said, driven by Richard Petrick, 84, of Merced.

Merced City Fire Department crews removed the boy from under the car, police said, and he was taken to Valley Children’s Hospital.

Neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the collision, and the driver cooperated with police, officers said. The collision investigation is ongoing.

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 12:16 PM with the headline "This is why Merced police didn’t immediately lift the car off the injured boy."