Boy Riding Bike Is Struck, Killed by Van

A 5-year-old boy riding his bicycle home from a neighborhood baseball game was struck and killed by a van, police said Wednesday.

The accident occurred about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday when Nicholas Weitl was pedaling across Grindlay Street south of Lincoln Avenue, Police Sgt. Larry Bandy said. The boy suffered head and upper torso injuries and was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died, Bandy said.

“There was a crosswalk, but I guess he didn’t use it,” said Patsy Weitl, 30, Nicholas’s mother.

“His brother saw [the van] coming and yelled at him not to cross,” she said, “but I think Nicholas was already on his way.”

The boy was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, and the driver of the van apparently was driving within the speed limit and was not cited, police said.

Nicholas and his older brother, Matthew, had left the house after dinner to go to the St. Irenaeus Catholic Church about a block away to play baseball with neighborhood children, Weitl said.

“They go there almost every day,” Weitl said. “But they usually don’t go that late and they usually walk. They usually don’t take their bikes.”

Weitl said she was sitting in the front yard talking to a neighbor when one of Nicholas’ friends ran up to her crying and told her that the boy had been hit by a van.

Nicholas was described by relatives as an affectionate and kind child who kept to himself.

“He played with bugs, ants and roly-polies,” his mother said. “He would spend hours in the neighbor’s yard looking for them.”

A fund has been established to help the family with funeral expenses. Donations: Nicholas Weitl Fund at Bank of America, 8955 Valley View Ave., Buena Park, CA 90620. Information: (714) 827-4428.