Girl at Swap Meet Is Struck, Killed by Van
A 7-year-old Los Angeles girl was struck and killed by a van at a swap meet Saturday in an accident that left her older brother slightly injured, police said.
According to police, Julia Garcia and her brother, Daniel Perez Rodriguez, 8, were standing behind a parked car from which their parents were selling merchandise when the 7 a.m. accident occurred at 1520 N. Lemon St. at the Anaheim Drive-In.
Javier Castellanos Flores, a merchant preparing to set up in the next stall about 30 feet away, backed his vehicle into the adjacent lot, striking the children and pinning Julia between his van and their parents’ car, according to traffic investigator J. Zito.
Police said the 52-year-old Paramount man had been having trouble parking, and the accident occurred as he was accelerating backwards.
Julia, who suffered major chest and back injuries, was treated at the scene by paramedics and transported to Anaheim Memorial Hospital. She was pronounced dead a short while later.
Her brother was also treated at the scene for minor injuries to his left leg and face and taken to the Anaheim hospital.
Police said the investigation is continuing. No charges had been filed in the case Saturday.
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