VENTURA : Boy, 15, Is Killed as Car Hits Bike
A 15-year-old Ventura boy was struck by a car and killed while trying to cross California 126 on his bicycle, authorities said Wednesday.
Eric Sneddon was riding south from Buena High School at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday when he attempted to cross the highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
After crossing the westbound lanes, Eric stepped from behind bushes on the center divider into the path of an oncoming car, officials said.
The driver of the car, 31-year-old Dayla Dirkse of Ventura was driving 55 m.p.h. when the boy appeared in front of her, a CHP official said. She was uninjured in the accident.
At Buena High School, where Eric was a freshman, several of the boy’s friends spoke with a school psychologist.
Eric was an avid basketball player and fan, according to his father, Earl Sneddon.
“It breaks my heart,” Earl Sneddon said Wednesday. “He was a fantastic kid. We were on good terms when he left me. We loved each other.”
Sneddon is survived by his father, his mother, Annette Cooper Sneddon of Merced, Calif., his stepmother, Kimberly, and four sisters.
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