Teen Hit by Car, Dumped 13 Miles Away

After striking a teenage bicyclist, a motorist traveled about 13 miles with the victim inside the car before leaving the body by a toll road median, police said.

Officials believe the victim was hurled through the car windshield, possibly landing in the passenger seat. The motorist has not been located.

Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas said investigators were stunned by the coldhearted nature of the crime, which occurred at 11:50 p.m. Sunday. John Lee LaBord, 18, had just left work and was riding his bicycle home, talking to three friends walking alongside, when a black car speeding on East Orangewood Avenue near Rampart Street struck the teenager.

“The victim was walking with a 17-year-old boy and two girls, 17 and 18. They were engaging in conversation when a car came from behind at a high rate of speed and struck the bicycle. The driver never braked, never slowed down, never stopped,” Vargas said.

The incident apparently happened in a heartbeat. LaBord--who lived in Orange, graduated from Orange High School in June with a 3.5 grade-point average and was to start community college classes today--literally disappeared in front of his friends’ eyes, police said.

“They looked around and saw the crumpled bike and a sneaker, but not the victim,” Vargas said. “We’ve seen cases where a body is thrown 150 feet or more. So we had patrol cars, bicycle patrols, dogs and a helicopter with an infrared device looking for the body. We even had Orange police helping us. But we didn’t find the victim.”

But investigators knew something horrible had happened, Vargas said. “We knew it was a big accident with significant injuries, based on debris and other evidence found at the scene,” he said. Broken glass suggested that the car’s windshield had been shattered.

Hoping that the driver would be moved by conscience, police put out a countywide alert to all hospitals to report any emergency room patients with traumatic injuries possibly resulting from an auto accident. But LaBord still was not located.

At 6:30 a.m. Monday, almost seven hours later, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a call about a body lying in the center of California Highway 133, near Portola Parkway. Anaheim detectives were also summoned, and they determined the victim was LaBord.

Vargas said the investigation is hampered by a shortage of clues. The incident happened so quickly that the witnesses were unable to give a good description of the car except to say that it was black, possibly a Honda.

An autopsy will determine if LaBord died on impact or survived for a short time.

“If the autopsy determines that the victim could’ve survived his injuries if he had received medical treatment right away, we’re going to have to deal with some pretty serious concerns,” Vargas said. “The crime is horrible enough, but if this kid could’ve lived if taken to a hospital, it makes everything worse.”

He added that investigators wonder what went on in the driver’s mind. “It’s one thing to panic, drive a short distance and wonder, ‘What have I done?’ But this person had more than enough time to come to his or her senses and realize what he or she had done.”

On Monday, Alex LaBord, the victim’s father, remembered his son as “just a good boy who liked to play guitar.” John was supposed to start classes at Santa Ana College today, Alex LaBord said.

John was the youngest of four children. The teenager was working at the Converse Store at the Block in Orange to earn money for school clothes, his father said.

“He was an honor student and played on the Orange High School water polo and swim teams,” Alex LaBord said.

Michael Seltzer, Orange High’s water polo coach for the first three years LaBord played there, described him as “a real good kid” and “quiet socially, but well-liked.”

“He wasn’t your all-star, or the top player, but he was the kind of kid who makes up most of your teams. He was very dependable, always at practice on time. He pushed everyone else on the team to do their best.

“We tried to get him some time in every game because he worked so hard,” said Seltzer, now a teacher at Oxford Academy in Cypress. “He wasn’t what I’d call a natural athlete, but he worked hard and was dedicated.”

Alex LaBord said that guitars were his son’s passion and that he planned to study music.

“He owned three guitars, including one that he bought with his own money for $600. He wanted to have his own band,” he said. “John was just an all-around good kid. . . . I want the person who did this to get caught. I want [the driver] to know who my son was.”

Body Found

An 18-year-old man was struck by a car Sunday night in Anaheim, but his body was found Monday morning about 13 miles from the accident scene, police say.

Source: Anaheim Police Department

Times staff writer Mike Hiserman contributed to this report.