Boy on Bicycle Killed, Another Hurt as Car Jumps Curb in Irvine

A young bicyclist was killed and another seriously injured Friday morning when they were struck by a car that jumped the curb and continued along an Irvine sidewalk for 75 yards, police said.

The dead boy was identified as Jesse Paul Joe R. Sullano, a 9-year-old Filipino who was living with his aunt and uncle, Bo and Benjamin Ros of Irvine.

The couple’s son, Giancarlo Lujan, also 9, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana where he was reported in good condition Friday evening.

The car narrowly missed two other boys bicycling on the sidewalk along Yale Avenue. The dead boy’s brother, Jesse Joe Sullano, 10, and another child whose name was not available, escaped unharmed.

Police said that three people in the car fled on foot but were caught about an hour later. One was spotted by an Irvine public works employee, who alerted police using his city radio.

Officers identified the suspected driver as Culmaro Urena, 23, of Santa Ana, a Mexican national who does not hold a California driver’s license. He was booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of manslaughter.

His two passengers, Mexican nationals Jorge Enrique, 16, and Juan Carlos Garcias, 27, both of Santa Ana, were detained for questioning but were not booked. They were being interviewed as witnesses, a police spokesman said.

Initially, Police Lt. Al Muir said, officers weren’t sure which of the three men was the driver. “It would be very unfortunate if we let one of the people go free and he turns out to be the driver,” Muir said.

The accident occurred at about 11:51 a.m., police said. The car, a red 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with California license plates, was heading west on Bryan Avenue and turned left onto Yale Avenue. “As the car completed the turn, it drove up onto the sidewalk,” Muir said. He added that it continued for about 75 yards, knocking down the boys and 10 newly planted trees.

Police at the scene said the dead boy apparently “went up over the hood and down the right side of the car.” His bicycle lay on the sidewalk, its front tire rippedfrom the rim and the sprocket bent in half.

After learning that the car’s occupants had fled and getting descriptions from witnesses, police set up a perimeter and watched intersections where they thought the fugitives might appear, Muir said.

“We were just fortunate enough that they thought they were far enough away from the scene--a good half-mile or mile--and they began surfacing in the streets,” he said. “They had split up.”

Muir said that “as a precaution,” a blood sample was taken from the suspected driver to test for alcohol and drugs. He added that the officer who arrested the suspected driver made no mention of smelling liquor on his breath.

At the Roses’ residence Friday, the couple, comforted by friends, tried to make sense of the tragic event. “I’m just trying to get my wits together so I can make immediate decisions,” said a subdued Bo Ros in her living room. “I will probably be flying home (to the Philippines) with the body in a few days.”

Ros said that she phoned her father in the Philippines so that he could break the news to Jesse Paul’s mother. She said that her sister’s two sons came to live with her and her husband in March because of the tumultuous political climate in the Philippines.

“You can’t find a better place than Irvine, especially for kids,” said Ros, who has lived in the city since 1984. “I’ve always felt so safe here and then this happened. . . . It’s just so sad because you know what’s going on in the Philippines--to take them away from all that and this is what happens. That’s what I’m having such a difficult time dealing with.”

“J.J. had a good cry,” Ros added, looking over toward the room where the dead boy’s brother was watching television. “He told me he really misses his brother.”

Ros described her nephew as “very bright, quick-witted and helpful. He had the most intelligent grasp of things and was quite happy-go-lucky, really.”

During the day, neighbors and young children, many of them on their bicycles, stopped by the street to watch police investigators at work. Officers had cordoned off the area.

Most of them were shaken by Friday’s incident.

“I take my son riding around all the time and am not worried,” said Lisa Rapport, 26. She was riding in the neighborhood Friday afternoon with her infant son on her back. “I guess you never know.”

Standing by the police barriers, Jennifer Perri, 13, said: “I think it’s really terrible. I just couldn’t believe a car could go around the corner and up on the sidewalk like that. I was stunned.”