OXNARD : Police Won’t Charge Man in Boy’s Death

Oxnard police have decided not to file charges against a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver whose truck struck and killed a 2 1/2-year-old boy, officials said Monday.

The decision not to file criminal charges against Juan Gomez, 28, of Oxnard was made after investigators interviewed Gomez and a number of witnesses to the accident, which occurred Sunday afternoon, said traffic investigator Ernie Orozco.

Gomez’s large pickup truck ran over Ramon Suarez in a driveway off East Pleasant Valley Road after Gomez had pulled to the shoulder of the road to allow an ice cream truck to pass, witnesses said.

“We do not see any negligence on the part of the driver,” Orozco said. “It seems to have been just a tragic accident.”

Investigators have determined that neither alcohol nor drugs played a part in the accident, and they believe Gomez’s statement that he could not see the child--who was about 2 1/2 feet tall--over the top of his full-size pickup, Orozco said.

The child’s parents will be interviewed this week, Orozco said, because questions remain over how the child was able to wander untended onto the driveway.

“I don’t know what type of supervision he had, but whatever it was was obviously not enough,” Orozco said.

However, it is unlikely that a parent would be charged in the death, Orozco said.

“In cases like this, we would not normally bring negligence charges,” he said.