Toddler Apparently Hit by Truck Dies

A 16-month-old girl died Sunday, hours after she was apparently struck by a truck in front of her home, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.

Investigators said the child may have been struck by an ice cream truck on Avenida Olivera.

Jannelle Sarabia was pronounced dead at 6:42 p.m. at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where she was taken with massive head injuries, Lt. Jay Mendez said.

The child’s parents, whose names were not available, told investigators that they had purchased ice cream from a truck in front of their home, then returned to their house. Moments later, the truck driver was at the door holding their child in his arms, Mendez said.

The driver told sheriff’s investigators that he did not see or feel his truck strike the child, but noticed her body lying in a pool of blood in the street. The driver, whose name was not immediately available, was not arrested, Mendez said.

However, the ice cream truck was impounded as part of the investigation.