Family, New Friends Attend Rites for Boy, 4

Juan Alberto Muniz, the 4-year-old Santa Ana boy run over by a truck in a supermarket parking lot this week as his parents rummaged through a dumpster for food, was buried Friday afternoon after a brief graveside service.

Raquel and Juan Sr., the boy’s parents, and his four sisters and brother were joined by about a dozen relatives, Santa Ana police officers and others in paying a final tribute to his abbreviated life.

The Roman Catholic ceremony took place at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange, overlooking the Peters Canyon wilderness and a small lake formed by Santiago Creek at the Villa Park Dam. The burial plot was arranged by the Orange Catholic Diocese at no cost to the family.

Father Alfredo de Dios, pastor of Our Lady del Pilar Church in Santa Ana, conducted the Spanish-language service, saying the child is “sleeping in the peace of the Lord,”

Since the accident Monday, a fund established by Santa Ana police to help the poverty-stricken family has reached $7,000. The father, unemployed over the last two years, has received job offers from a Santa Ana landscaping firm and McDonnell Douglas Corp.

“As police officers, we try to help everyone, but as human beings we sometimes tend to take things for granted,” said Tony Zavala, an officer active in the relief fund. “But when something like this happens, it makes you stop and think. In a way, something like this tragedy brings people together.”

A Mexican Saying

“We have a saying in Mexico,” said Jose Vargas, another Santa Ana policeman: “No hay mal que por bien no venga (there is nothing bad from which good does not come).”

The father, originally from Juanajuato, in southern Mexico, has lived in this country for more than 11 years. He and his wife have been waging a legal battle with immigration officials to stay in this country since then.

The accident that took the boy’s life occurred outside an Albertson’s supermarket on East 17th Street about 1:30 p.m. Monday. As the Munizes searched a dumpster for discarded groceries, they exchanged greetings with Isaias Gonzales, 30, the driver of a Frito-Lay delivery truck.

“Be careful, watch out for my kids,” Raquel Muniz reportedly told Gonzales. “OK,” he answered.

Hit by Truck

Moments later, however, the boy had apparently darted in front of the truck. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. An autopsy later showed that he died of massive head injuries.

“The sad part of all this is that they’re just one family, but there are thousands just like them,” said Tom Darcey, assistant manager of the Westminster Memorial Park Mortuary, which donated mortuary services and transportation for the family. “It’s a shame that something like this has to happen to make us open our eyes.”

Checks ranging from $5 to $500 for the memorial fund have come from all over Southern California, Santa Ana Police Officer Raul Luna said. The Frito-Lay Co. donated $2,500, he said.

‘Incredible’ Support

“There’s not a city in Orange County that’s not represented,” added Zavala. “It’s truly incredible, the support the family is getting.”

The Munizes live in a single bedroom apartment on Santa Ana’s rundown Minnie Street. One of their first moves will be to a bigger and better home, they said.

“We’re working on finding them another place to live and finding a job for Mr. Muniz,” said Zavala, who lost a baby to crib death in 1982. “When the family is stabilized, any surplus clothing or furniture will be donated to other needy families. We don’t want other families to feel that we’ve ignored or neglected them, but this thing just kind of snowballed. All we’re doing is trying to help them get through this.”