Van runs over cyclist in Palatine

A teenage cyclist was hit by a full-size cargo van while crossing the road at Northwest Highway and Plum Grove Road in Palatine Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The 15-year-old cyclist from Palatine was traveling west on the south side sidewalk of Northwest Highway. As the boy crossed Plum Grove Road, the van traveling north on Plum Grove Road stopped at the light and then proceeded through, hitting the cyclist, police said.

Palatine firefighters/paramedics used air bags to lift the van and pull the boy out from underneath. He was pinned under the van’s front axle, officials said.

The boy was conscious and breathing and taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights with minor nonlife-threatening injuries.

Police ticketed the van driver, Gilberto Vaquero, of Palatine for not having a valid driver’s license and failure to yield to a cyclist in a crosswalk, Palatine Police Sgt. Tim Sharkey said.

Northwest Highway was briefly closed in both directions.