Just heartbreaking.
A 12-year old Valencia boy died after falling from his bike earlier in the day.
According to the L.A. Daily News, Gabriel Tambong was riding with his sister on Wednesday afternoon when he fell off his bike, suffering minor scrapes.
However, he was found unresponsive around 9 pm, after continuing home and engaging with other members of the family. Despite being rushed to a local hospital, he was declared dead shortly after 10 pm.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, which may or may not be a result of his fall.
Based on the limited description, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suspect a brain hemorrhage, which can allow the victim to appear normal until losing consciousness or developing other symptoms. However, that is strictly a guess on my part, as the story does not note if he hit his head or was wearing a helmet; Gabriel’s death could have been caused by any number of things unrelated to bicycling or his fall.
If this turns out to the the result of a bicycle accident, it would be the 20th cycling fatality in Southern California so far this year, and the sixth in Los Angeles County. It’s just the second death in the month of May, compared to five last year; by this time in 2011, there had been 30 traffic-related cycling deaths in the seven county SoCal region.
My heart and prayers go out to Gabriel Tambong and all his family and loved ones.
