Update: Seven-year old e-bike rider killed by ice cream truck in South LA; driver attacked by bystanders

Just heartbreaking.

Several media sources are reporting that a seven-year old boy has died after falling under an ice cream truck.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was reportedly riding a motorcycle-style e-bike when he fell under the rear wheels of the truck.

According to KABC-7, he was riding next to the slow moving truck, and possibly holding on to it, before falling for an unknown reason. The LA Times reports that police consider it an “unfortunate accident,” though the investigation is still ongoing.

He was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, but died at 9:15 pm after emergency surgery.

However, in a report on KNBC-4, which is not available online as of this writing, a man identified as the victim’s uncle said the boy was walking his bike next to the truck, rather than riding, in an attempt to catch up to his older brother. And that the truck had been traveling too fast for the neighborhood street.

To make matters worse, the driver suffered minor injuries after he and his truck were attacked by people in the area who threw bricks at the truck and threatened him with a knife.

According to the man claiming to be the victim’s uncle, the attackers included the boy’s mother.

This is the 74th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 29th in the County of Los Angeles; it’s also the 10th in the City of LA.

Update: The victim has been identified as Jamarion Thomas. Meanwhile, the Times reports that family members dispute the version of events given by the police, as noted above, insisting that he was walking his bike and was too small to hold onto the truck, even if he wanted to.

Update: As this story has developed, it has become clear that Jamarion Thomas was not riding or walking a bicycle when he was killed, since his bike didn’t have pedals. Instead, it was a toy motorcycle powered by a battery.

This does not make his death any less tragic, but it does mean it does not belong among the statistics for bicycling fatalities.

As a result, I have removed his name from this year’s total. That returns the number of SoCal bicycling fatalities to 73 for this year, with 28 in LA County and the 9th in the City of Los Angeles. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jamarion Thomas and his family.

10 comments

  1. JD says:

    Our prayers go up for the family and friends of the young victim.

  2. Kuerbis says:

    Sad! Prayers for the Family. But why is this counted as bicycle fatality # 74 ?

    • bikinginla says:

      I’m not sure what you’re asking. Why don’t you think this should be counted as #74?

      • Kuerbis says:

        It was not a bike ( no pedals = no bike )

        • bikinginla says:

          In retrospect, that appears to be the case.

          When I wrote this last night, all the news stories were identifying it as a bicycle, though some said that it had an electric engine. As the night went on, it became clear the bike was made in the style of a mini-motorcycle, yet it still seemed to be a bicycle.

          However, when I look at the bike, it does not seem to have pedals. As a result, I’ve struggled all day with whether or not to remove this case from the database, as you suggest. I want to sleep on it, but yes, I will probably remove it and go back to 73.

  3. appie says:

    Tragic accident, compounded by
    “… driver suffered minor injuries after he and his truck were attacked by people in the area who threw bricks at the truck and threatened him with a knife…”

    For readers unfamiliar with LA, “South” or “South Central” are the P.C. euphemisms for one of LA’s several ghettos.

    The driver is lucky he didnt get killed … or that this didn’t trigger widescale looting & rioting.

    • bikinginla says:

      Ouch. South LA isn’t a ghetto, it’s a neighborhood. Just like other parts of LA, it has some very bad areas, but it also has some good ones — and good people, several of whom it’s been my pleasure to work with over then years.

      The next CicLAvia goes through South LA this December, including historic Central Avenue — the birthplace of West Coast Jazz — and Leimert Park, long considered the cultural center for LA’s African American community. Come on out for a pleasant ride and see for yourself what South LA really is.

  4. Is it bad of me that I was happy bystanders applied physical force against a killer driver…?

  5. KB says:

    Let me help you count his death. For a long time we struggled to let qualified people in chair get paid to sit on them, even if they had to bring there own. Then motorcity saw a threat from interstate bus service, and made the call lifting the hold on the legislation so that now today people without legs, children, paralyzed, etc, even physicists without any other life all get to even write and at least the pretense of paying there own bills.

    The child was rolling on two wheels and killed by a likely overamplified, criminally so, frozen sweets PEDDLER. The mother will be advised to carry more munitions in the future, before such drivers can be taken into protective custody, as is pointed out in the Movie “November Man”- come it, not much remains green thereafter. SO be it for those who slaughter our children by any ‘wrongful’ means before us.

    Children using training wheels, have adults push them, ride on the back of bikes with hub motors and not, and the are all at risk in having to share the road with the implements of profiteers having nothing to do with mobility.

    The kid died because he was not ensconced in a metal bubble of evil on wheels deadly to his peers. His fatality demonstrates that not noticing personal freezers have permeated into not just the best homes has it’s price.

    Boycott the bastards. In Huntington Park I have chased enough of them down to know I have shown to much mercy upon catching them without having to read about this controversy over whether ounces of lead and sulfuric acid should have us turn our backs to this killing.

    Get you frozen treats at the store or from trucks parked quiet out of the way of children’s path’s!

    Do I have to create my own blog to count the kids crushed by other fools sweet tooths pavloviangly gouged for triple priced plattered chips and orange goo too? I WILL NOT DO IT.

Discover more from BikinginLA

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading