A Parking Sticker Is the Only Clue in Motorcycle Death

A little after midnight last Thursday, a car apparently collided with a motorcycle being driven by 20-year-old Christopher L. Gruber. After the collision, the driver sped off, leaving Gruber sprawled in a pile of shattered glass near the Crescent Avenue and Dale Street intersection in Buena Park. He died a few hours later without regaining consciousness.

Investigators have no description of the other vehicle because no witnesses have come forward, Anaheim Police Sgt. Richard Zschoche said Tuesday.

But stuck to a shard of glass found at the scene was a parking sticker, a 2 3/4-inch-by-1 1/2-inch piece of white paper bearing the number 0005 printed in orange. Police now say it is the only evidence that can help identify the driver, whom they want for questioning.

Investigators have contacted print shops throughout Southern California in search of the sticker’s printer. But so far, the efforts have been fruitless.

The mystery of the accident has left Gruber’s parents stunned.

“Why would somebody leave him on the ground to die?” asked Golda Gruber, the young man’s mother. “I mean, it’s very hard to accept that somebody would leave your baby on the street like that.”

Gruber’s parents, who live in Las Vegas, are staying with relatives in Santa Ana until after their son’s funeral today. In an interview Tuesday, both said they want desperately to know what happened that night.

Fred Gruber, an aircraft mechanic for American Airlines, said he has examined his son’s motorcycle, a Kawasaki Ninja, and has had long discussions with the police. He said he plans to post a reward for anybody willing to give information about the collision.

“I can’t comprehend it,” Fred Gruber said. “We’re so sick of such violence. I can’t understand why somebody would run over him and then not help him.”

The parents said their son had hobbies that included calligraphy and drawing. He wanted to become a draftsman and had planned to take classes during the hours he wasn’t managing a Little Caesar’s Pizza in Buena Park, where he had worked since he was a 17-year-old student at La Quinta High School in Westminster.

With a love of music and a reputation as being easy on his employees, Gruber made friends easily, said Ray Padilla, his assistant manager at the pizza shop.

Gruber was proud of his motorcycle. A week before he died, his helmet had been stolen from the bike, so he parked it in front of the shop so he could keep an eye on it, Padilla said.

On Wednesday, Gruber had helped clean the pizza shop toward the end of his shift and stayed on until almost midnight chatting with the workers. He then called a friend and decided to visit him.

Police say Gruber left the shop at midnight and headed south on Dale Street from Buena Park to Anaheim. But when he reached Crescent Avenue, the collision occurred.

Another driver later found Gruber near the intersection, bleeding from injuries to his head. His chest was covered with glass that police believe could have come from any of the car’s windows except for the windshield.

Because Dale Street is well-traveled, Zschoche said investigators are puzzled about why there apparently were no witnesses.

Police are asking that anyone with information about the accident or the sticker phone (714) 999-1861 during business hours.