Garbage Truck Kills Boy, 8

An 8-year-old San Juan Capistrano boy was killed Friday and his 5-year-old friend injured when they were hit by a garbage truck while skateboarding through their Los Rios neighborhood, officials said.

The injured boy was identified as Juan Tapia. The other child’s name was not released.

The two boys rolled in front of the Solag Disposal Co. truck as the driver, Israel Garcia, was pulling out of the condominium development in the 31500 block of Calle La Purisma, officials said.

Garcia had just finished his weekly trash pickup at 12:15 p.m. and was leaving the complex, said Cameron Spicer, Solag’s operations manager.

“He didn’t see them at all. . . . He felt something, heard a noise and stopped the truck to investigate,” Spicer said. “It’s just a tragedy. We can’t believe this.”

It is the third incident this week in which young children in Orange County have been struck by vehicles. Seven-year-old Miguel Dionicio of Orange died Wednesday after riding his bicycle into the street, where he was hit by a pickup truck. That same day, a 4-year-old was critically injured when he ran into the path of a car in Stanton. The child, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized.

Those incidents and the tragedy Friday prompted Orange County traffic and police officials to issue warnings to parents and motorists.

“Parents need to make sure their kids understand what is going to happen if they run out into the street,” said Officer Angel Johnson of the California Highway Patrol. “And drivers need to be aware that with the increase in daylight we have a lot more people, especially kids, outside and to pay a little bit closer attention.”

The 8-year-old hit Friday suffered massive head injuries and died at the scene, said Capt. Scott Brown, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.

Juan, whose shoulder was pinned under the truck’s front tire, was conscious when paramedics arrived. They jacked up the truck to free him and took him to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where he was in good condition Friday. “He’s got pelvic fractures, and they are ruling out internal injuries,” said Bryan Noakes, nursing supervisor at the hospital.

The truck driver was not cited. The incident remains under investigation, authorities said.

The accident drew dozens of residents to the scene, where they huddled on the grass and the sidewalks and watched Orange County sheriff’s deputies inspect the brown garbage rig. A yellow tarp covered the boy’s body, which lay partly beneath the truck’s front end.

“It is so sad,” said Isabela Vasquez, who moved to the close-knit Latino community this year. “There are children playing around here all of the time, all over the place. We watch out for them together. If they go out of sight, we know they are in someone else’s view.”

Several neighbors, however, said that the children are left unsupervised much of the time.

“They run around like crazy,” said one woman, who asked not to be identified. “I look out here sometimes and there’s 30 kids--itty-bitty kids too--going nuts, and there’s not an adult around.”

Spicer said the neighborhood is home to several of his truck drivers. Solag, which contracts with six south Orange County cities, has collected garbage in San Juan Capistrano for 30 years, he said.

“The whole scene is just awful,” Spicer said. “Those poor families.”

CHP’s Johnson emphasized that parents should be careful when sending small children out with older kids. “They have to make sure that the older child is responsible enough to have the concentration to take care of the younger ones. They can get distracted, and that’s dangerous.”

She said many fatal accidents can be prevented with the use protective gear. “With skateboards and bicycles, anyone under the age of 18 has to be wearing a helmet,” she said. “We’ve seen instances where the person has had only minor injuries because they were wearing a helmet. When it comes to skateboards and Rollerblades the more equipment they wear, the better off they are.”

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Times staff writer Yung Kim contributed to this report.