PACOIMA : Girl, 1, Is Crushed and Killed by Truck

A 1-year-old Pacoima girl died over the weekend after her uncle accidentally backed a pickup truck over her in the family’s driveway, Los Angeles police said.

Guadalupe Cruz was crushed beneath the wheels of a truck driven by Eduardo Maya, 25, about 10 p.m. Saturday in the 11800 block of Chadron Avenue in Pacoima, Officer Frank Zdroy said.

Maya told police that he was watching a movie in the house when the child’s mother asked him to help move some vehicles in the driveway. Guadalupe accompanied her mother outside.

Maya, who does not have a driver’s license, said that when another car parked behind the truck backed out, he followed. But when he had pulled the truck halfway into the street, he said, he saw Guadalupe lying on the driveway.

He said he became sick and could remember nothing else about the incident. The girl was rushed by her parents to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, but she was pronounced dead about 10:30 p.m.

Zdroy said Maya was not cited or arrested by police for driving without a license because the incident occurred on private property.