Advertisement

Boy dies after being struck by vehicle while crossing street in South L.A.

Distraught mother
Los Angeles Police Det. Moses Castillo, left, escorts Kenny Hernandez, center, the distraught mother of a boy who was killed while crossing Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the way to school Tuesday in Los Angeles.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Share

A 12-year-old boy died Tuesday morning after he was hit by a car on the way to school in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The incident happened about 7:30 a.m. when the driver, a 43-year-old woman, made a left turn from Woodlawn Avenue onto Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The boy, who was half a block away from his home, was halfway through the intersection when he was hit by the driver, who didn’t see him, said Moses Castillo, a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department. The driver and the boy had green lights.

Advertisement

The woman had finished dropping off her daughter at school and claimed she wasn’t distracted by her phone, Castillo said.

“She’s also very distraught,” he said.

There was no evidence of alcohol or drugs and Castillo said police took the driver’s phone to run an analysis and see what happened.

Castillo said they’re conducting a “thorough investigation” and that “everything’s on the table.”

Despite help from a bystander who performed CPR and quick action by the Los Angeles Fire Department, the “child was beyond medical help,” and died at the scene, according to an alert issued by the agency.

The boy, who would have turned 13 in May, was on his way to Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School, according to Castillo.

Advertisement