Boy, 15, Dies When Trucks Collide After Gang Encounter

A 15-year-old boy died after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck that he and his friends had taken from rival gang members, police said.

The gang members had a confrontation about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 1300 block of South Parton Street where shots were fired, police spokeswoman Maureen Haacker said. The neighborhood is nearly a mile away from Santa Ana High School, where a man was fatally shot and his relatives injured after they were harassed by gang members during an evening basketball game last week.

The gunshots did not hurt anyone, but one group ran off and left behind a truck, Haacker said. The boys remaining took it over and a 14-year-old driver sped through the neighborhood without turning on the headlights.

He ran a stop sign at Wilshire Avenue, and the truck was hit broadside by another truck, police said. The driver of the second vehicle was not injured.

The 14-year-old driver suffered head injuries from the impact and was listed in stable condition Thursday. A 15-year-old passenger in the truck was treated at UCI Medical Center for a broken arm.

The name of the boy who was fatally injured was being withheld pending notification of relatives. The identities of the injured were not released because of their ages, Haacker said. All three are from Santa Ana.

Police met with the district attorney’s office Thursday seeking manslaughter charges against the driver, she added.