Grandfather’s Car Strikes, Kills Toddler

An 18-month-old girl was struck and killed Thursday morning by a truck driven by her grandfather, who apparently did not see the child playing near his vehicle, investigators said.

The 60-year-old man was visiting his daughter and grandchildren at the Tampico Motel in the 2000 block of East Center Street, where the family has lived for about three weeks, police and motel clerks said. The man left the motel about 10:20 a.m. He got into his truck and backed out of a parking space when his daughter came up to talk to him, police said.

When they finished the conversation, the man drove forward, initially thinking a sudden jerk was because of a speed bump, Police Sgt. Paul Shephard said.

Courtney Matthews was found under the right front tire of the truck with severe head and chest injuries, Shephard said. Police said the toddler must have darted in front of the truck while her grandfather chatted with her mother standing nearby.

Clerks at the motel said they heard screams and then a man ran to the front office and yelled at them to call 911.

By the time paramedics arrived, relatives had already transported the toddler to Anaheim Memorial Hospital, where she died about an hour later, police said.

The grandfather has not been cited and police are continuing the investigation.