13-Year-Old Hearing Impaired Child Hit, Killed By Trash Truck

From: NBC4.TV, CA - Jun 9, 2004

Boy Was On In-line Skates When He Ran Into Truck

LOS ANGELES -- A 13-year-old on in-line skates and pushing a scooter was killed Wednesday when he ran into the back of a trash truck that was in reverse and rolled over the child's head, Placentia police said.

The boy, who used hearing aids, was on his way to pick up his brother shortly after 2 p.m. at Ruby Drive Elementary School.

The accident occurred near Twilight and Sunrise streets, near the Cal State Fullerton campus, said Placentia police Lt. Steve Toth.

The teenager went down a wheelchair access ramp, cut into the sidewalk and slammed into the back of a Placentia Disposal truck, said Detective Corinne Loomis.

The child's feet went out from under him on impact, and the trash truck driver was unaware of what had happened and kept backing up, Loomis said. The boy's mother ran up moments later, Loomis said, adding that the woman's son was dead at the scene.

"Nothing in the way of a conclusion about the accident has been reached yet," Toth said.

Both the driver and the child's mother were traumatized, and crisis intervention personnel were summoned, Loomis said.

The parent of Placentia Disposal is Taormina Industries, Toth said.

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