Originally Posted by Kurt Erlenbach

Agreed completely. However it's the parking on the sidewalk with the bumper out into the street that muddles things. Take a look at the video that accompanies the TV station's story. It shows a photo of the car with the rear end out into the street. To miss the car, the child would have had to ride into the street, and if the turn approaching the driveway was in fact blind, that maneuver would have been dangerous even for an experienced rider. Given that the small claims filing fee, plus service of process, was probably over $300, I'd say taking the 50-50 split would have been fair to all. And the child would have learned a good lesson. That fact that the child went to the door and reported it, rather than riding off, shows some real character.