The Ventura County Star reports the heartbreaking news that a six-year old boy was killed while riding his bike in Oxnard on Thanksgiving Day.
Anthony Martinez was riding on the sidewalk on the south side of the 1300 block of West Olive Street at around 4:20 pm when he reportedly rode into the street and was hit by a full-size GMC Sierra pickup driven by 50-year old Jesus Calderon Ruvalcalba. He was knocked off his bike and run over by the truck.
Despite the fact tat both Martinez and Revalcalba were traveling east, this does not appear to be a right hook; the collision seems to have occurred mid-block rather than at the intersection. There’s no report on how fast the truck was going, or any other factors that could have contributed to this tragedy.
However, the police report indicates that Revalcalba is not suspected of drug or alcohol impairment.
There’s also no word on why the boy may have left the sidewalk and ridden his bike into the street.
However, it’s important to remember that children are wild cards when it comes to traffic; they can often act on impulse with no consideration or awareness of the possible consequence. You should always give children the widest possible berth while driving or biking, and be prepared to respond instantly to unexpected actions.
The investigation is continuing; anyone with information about this collision is urged to contact Senior Officer Maria Peña at 805-385-7750.
This is the 64th confirmed traffic-related bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 4th in Ventura County.
My sympathy and prayers go out to Anthony Martinez’ family and loved ones.
Update: A follow-up story by the Star fills in most of the gaps in the earlier reports.
Evidently, Ruvalcaba, who lived on the same block as the victim’s family, had his view of the sidewalk blocked by a large commercial truck that the victim was riding around. Neighbors described Ruvalcaba as a very cautious driver, who was in tears following the collision.
Meanwhile, Martinez was described as a cheerful, intelligent and outgoing boy, according to the Star.
The 6-year-old boy struck and killed by a pickup while riding a bike near his Oxnard home Thanksgiving afternoon was a smart, athletic child who loved celebrations so much he called himself “Mr. Holiday,” grieving family members said Friday.
“He was just sunshine in our lives,” said his mother, Gloria Burciaga, 40
Speed limit on a street this happened on is 25 mph. My bet is that the driver was going faster than that, and wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. The little child may have still done a move that wasn’t right, but if the driver would have been more attentive, this may have not happened. 25 is the max, obviously if there is a child in the area, you slow down. This was a very minor thoroughfare. The kid probably thought he own the road, and rightfully so. Look what minor street it is.
Sorry to hear about such a young fatality. I wish the best for his family.
Allan, that is pretty presumptuous on your part to state that the driver must have been going faster than the speed limit, and wasn’t paying attention. How many accident investigations have you been on? Besides, lets just say that he was going 25, even at that speed if he would have hit the poor little boy, the possiblity of serious injury/fatality is still quite high. Nobody is to blame here. It was an accident. Accidents happen, and while this totally sucks, that is life. If I was going to blame anyone, which I am not since I don’t know all the details, I would blame the parents for letting a little boy outside without supervision.
Well I’m never one to defend the fat slob that driving a big fat truck and not giving a f**k what he’s doing on the road or to the environment. I like to think I’m one that defends and sticks up for the one that is defenseless.
Sorry for not responding to you sooner but I was getting back from a little vacate of LA over the holiday. And no that wasn’t driving home in fat gas-guzzling high riding 4 by 4, but on the metrolink. Was a very enjoyable experience actually. They had Wi-Fi for the passenger. I saw your response, but I decided to wait till I got acclimated back in LB. 😉
Well hello there Richard I am that boys older sister and I agree with you completely it was a fatal accident that has left me and my family devastated. And there is no one to blame including my parents. My brother was being supervised by my uncle outside but inconveniently he looked away for a quick three minutes to get my sister’s bike. And tragically within that time period my brother was struck.
Richard, saying it was an ‘accident’ ignores the human component in decisions that led up to this tragegy. What if the speed limit on the street was only 15 mph instead of 25 mph? What if trucks were prohibited from blocking sidewalks (and held liable for accidents they caused as a result of their blockage) so the boy wasn’t forced out into the street? What if drivers had strict liability so in the case of an accident with a more vulnerable road users they were always deamed liable since they are driving a 4,000 lb piece of heavy equipment?
The Dutch didn’t alway have good cycling infrastucture. It came largely from a campaign instituted by parents called “Stop the Child Murder”. People were concerned about the deaths of children from motor vehicles in their streets and did something to minimize it. Saying, “oh well, nothing can be done, it’s just life on the roads and streets in the United States” ignores all the things we could do to stop these tragedies from happening.