Moment boy, 10, ploughs into moving car he didn't hear as he was blaring music loudly - as father says he is 'lucky to be alive'

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:50, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 12:50, 20 July 2026 This is the moment a 10-year-old boy was nearly killed as he ploughed his bike into a moving car that he couldn't hear over the loud music blaring in his ears. Lewis Cope was riding without a helmet and playing songs on his speaker when he sped up to a junction in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on the evening of June 24. The sound of his music masked that of the oncoming SUV, which suddenly appeared from behind a fence at the junction just before Lewis smashed into the driver's side door, CCTV footage showed. The boy slammed into the car and spun in the air on impact before tumbling down hard onto the tarmac - knocked unconscious as he huddled into a fetal ball. Debris splintered around his motionless body before the man driving got out and anxiously beckoned over some women passing by on the pavement to help. The sun was going down when Lewis's father Rich Cope, 43, got the terrifying call that his son had been in an accident. He rushed out of his house to be by Lewis' side. Mr Cope said: 'He'd been out for around half an hour when a member of the public rang me off his phone and said that Lewis had been involved in an accident on his bike. Crash victim Lewis Cope, 10, and his father Richard Cope, 43 Lewis smashed into the side of a moving car on his bike after his loud music drowned out the noise of the oncoming vehicle on June 24 Lewis was left with a concussion and cuts and bruises but was 'very lucky' not to have been hurt 'much worse', Mr Rich Cope said 'Naturally, I asked if he was okay, and she kind of hesitated and said, "You need to come really quickly." 'I wanted to be instantly there. He was conscious by the time we got there, and the paramedics and police crew were with him. 'He was concussed and out of it.' Luckily, the youngster had got off lightly with just a concussion, cuts and bruising. He was rushed to Sheffield Children's Hospital, where he stayed for treatment for the next two days. The father-of-two said: 'He was very lucky. In most cases, it's a much worse outcome. '[After watching the footage] I was horrified. It was worse than I thought it would be. Just to see how he'd put himself in that situation also shocked me.' The worried father has now vowed to share the footage - caught by a neighbour's CCTV camera - in hopes of raising awareness around road safety. He believes the crash could have been avoided if Lewis hadn't been listening to his music and had paid more attention. Mr Cope added: 'No matter how much you try to teach them, when they're out there on their own, there's inevitably going to be some risk and some mistakes. 'But in a matter of seconds, you make these ill judgments. 'He clearly wasn't paying enough attention to the road. We don't actually allow him on the road, but ultimately, this is the time when mistakes happen. 'He didn't hear the car coming because he had music on. He didn't have his helmet on, which he normally does.' Lewis' father described him as 'a lovely lad' and 'just an ordinary 10-year-old', explaining that his son had 'just wanted to go for a ride and have a bit of fresh air', and told his parents where he was going. But the innocent cycle ride quickly turned into 'the perfect storm' for the awful crash to take place. Mr Cope said his son is 'lucky beyond imagination' to escape the collision without more serious injuries and has since spoken to Lewis to teach him about what went wrong. He said: 'We've spoken about it and he knows that he got a number of things wrong. 'Being on the road without a helmet was a risk in itself, but then he didn't help himself by having music playing on speaker through his phone, which didn't allow him to hear anything coming. The youngster was knocked unconscious in the crash and lay motionless on the road, huddled into a fetal ball The driver stopped immediately to help Lewis and called over some passersby to help. It was then that Mr Cope received the terrifying call The car was left dented by the crash and Mr Cope made sure to say the driver 'wasn't at fault at all' Lewis spent two days at Sheffield Children's Hospital to treat his concussions and cuts and bruises 'It's so easily done. Lewis obviously didn't hear the car approaching. 'It was a perfect storm. He missed the junction, and if he wasn't playing music and had heard the car coming, it could've been the opportunity to exercise some caution. 'You've got to give the road and other road users maximum concentration and respect. 'I don't think he did anything unusual to many other 10-year-olds. They are going to make decisions, and some of them are going to be bad. 'We've pointed out a number of factors that put him in that situation, and he understands. 'It could've easily been so much worse; he's lucky beyond imagination. The other driver wasn't at fault at all.'