Moorhead girl gets a new bike from police after accident

Rayna Yellowbird suffered serious injuries after she was hit by a car while on her bike.

MOORHEAD, Minn. — Rayna Yellowbird was spending a summer day the same way many kids do; riding a bike around the neighborhood with her friends.

Her route took her to the intersection of Elm Street and 12th Avenue North in Fargo and that’s where things took a turn for the worse.

“I stopped and there was nobody going, so I went and then she just hit me,” said Yellowbird.

Two weeks later and she is still in the process of healing from stitches, a fractured knee, a concussion and a jammed jaw.

Thankfully, while still on crutches, the soon-to-be sixth grader is in positive spirits, but she was also without a bike.

“This is her first year riding a bike so I was kind of upset this happened her first year, and I didn’t want it to stop her from riding a bike,” said Rayna’s mother, Brittany Yellowbird.

Moorhead police didn’t want that either.

The department heard about Rayna’s story from her Grandma and they knew immediately they could help. El Zagal Shrine Circus, in partnership with KVRR, donated 12 new bikes to Moorhead Police this summer to give out to kids in need.

Rayna was the perfect fit.

“If I am 10, 11, 12-years-old and my bike just got ran over – to have somebody from the community care enough to give us a bike to give to them,” said Moorhead police Sgt. Scott Kostohryz. “The healing process is hard when you are that age for the leg, let alone the bike, so maybe that helps her heal a little bit more and gets her back on the bike.”

It is still going to be some time before Rayna is all healed up and can take a ride on her new bike, but she says when she’s able to do so, she is not at all scared about getting back out there.

She is grateful to the police for giving her the chance to do.

“I think it is really nice of them that they would just give me a bike. It really means a lot because I didn’t learn how to ride a bike until [I was] 11 cause I didn’t want to ride one, so it was kind of a surprise and I am really excited cause it means a lot to me,” said Rayna.

Rayna also received a new helmet. Doctors say it was wearing one during the accident that prevented more serious injuries and that may have even saved her life.