Big Rig Kills Youth in Orange

An 11-year-old boy who told friends he wanted to be a professional skateboarder died pursuing his passion Wednesday after being run over by an 18-wheel truck in Orange.

Edson Ledezma was skateboarding with his 12-year-old brother, Miguel, about 2 p.m., police said, when the accident occurred at Katella Avenue and Glassell Street.

The truck had stopped for pedestrians before turning right from the westbound lanes of Katella onto the northbound lanes of Glassell. As it made the turn, police said, the boy went down a handicap-access ramp in front of it and was dragged under the wheels.

“We were in the toy store,” Miguel said a few hours after the accident. “We were walking back home. He was behind me. I heard this lady say that my brother had been hit.”

Miguel said he turned around and saw his brother’s body on the street. A family friend, who saw the accident, called the boys’ parents.

No charges have been filed against the driver, who works for a materials handling firm in Orange and, according to state records, has had no convictions or accidents in the last seven years.

“We’re still looking into the details to see what, if anything, was done that was unsafe,” said Sgt. Dave Hill, a spokesman for the Orange Police Department.

The boy--a sixth-grader at California Elementary School who lived about two miles away-- died at the scene.

More than 40 members of Edson’s extended family gathered in his parents’ tiny Orange apartment Wednesday. Christmas decorations still twinkled from the tree in the corner, but the kitchen had become somber with white candles flickering atop a starched tablecloth.

The family’s pastor sat with Edson’s mother and father in the small living room as relatives overflowed out the door.

The day before, the Ledezma family had celebrated Christmas. Edson’s favorite present was a robot that turned into a truck.

He loved taking things apart and putting them back together, his brother said.

“He was a good boy,” said his father, Miguel Ledezma, wiping tears from his eyes. “‘He worked hard in school. He got good grades.”

His father said that in addition to his son’s love of skateboarding, Edson also dreamed of becoming a doctor.

“He wanted to cure the sick,” he said. “He loved this.”

His extended family was proud of this dream and did all they could to help the studious boy. His favorite books were the Harry Potter series.

“It’s a terrible thing,” Hill said, “and the fact that it happened the day after Christmas doesn’t make it any easier.”

Standing among the onlookers was Eder Diaz, 15, a neighbor of the Ledezma brothers who said he went skateboarding often with them.

“He was a good friend,” Eder said of Edson. “He was just a regular kid who skateboarded a lot. He was good at it.”

Edson was easy to get along with. He was cheerful, enjoyed telling funny stories and loved going to the movies, his friend said.

“I liked everything about him,” said Eder, who was in a nearby convenience store when the accident occurred.

Funeral arrangements are pending.