Trucker Held in Hit-and-Run Death of Boy, 5

A truck driver suspected of running over and killing a 5-year-old boy and then fleeing was being held on $50,000 bail at the Van Nuys jail, Los Angeles police said Sunday.

Juan Arturo Castillo Alvarez, 20, was arrested Saturday night at his Pacoima home, three hours after the boy was struck at Desmond Street and El Dorado Avenue, Sgt. Willie Fesler said.

The boy, Alfredo Oseguera, was riding a red scooter across Desmond Street at 4:45 p.m. when the driver of a flatbed truck towing a cement mixer hit him and fled, Fesler said. The boy died at the scene of massive head and trunk injuries, police said.

A witness chased the truck and noted the license plate number before the driver sped away, Fesler said.

Police found the truck at the San Fernando home of Rubin Carrillo, Alvarez’s employer, Fesler said. The grille was broken and had bits of fresh red paint matching that of Oseguera’s scooter, he said.

Carrillo told police that Alvarez had not mentioned any accident when he returned the truck, a few hours before their visit. Carrillo led police to another man, who took the officers to Alvarez’s Pacoima home.

Police found a baseball cap there that matched a witness’s description of a cap worn by the driver of the truck that hit the boy, Fesler said.

Alvarez was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run driving. A judge authorized a bail increase from $1,000 to $50,000 to ensure that Alvarez, who carried Mexican national identification, would not flee to Mexico, Fesler said.

The victim is the son of Carmen Olivares and Alfredo Oseguera.