Questions raised in death of man, 78, struck by dump truck on L.A. River bike path
Three weeks after a Cudahy man was killed by a dump truck backing up on the Los Angeles River bike path, his friends and family have more questions than answers.
Karl Weichinger, 78, would walk the L.A. River path just a few blocks from his apartment about four times a week. But when he left for a walk on the afternoon of June 1, he never came back.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has ruled his death an accident from multiple traumatic injuries, saying a dump truck working on the path near Elizabeth Street didn’t see him when it hit him at 5:06 p.m. He was taken to St. Francis Medical Center and pronounced dead at 5:43 p.m.
Relatives and friends of the retired electrician are convinced that workers were being reckless and that the driver was going too fast when Weichinger was struck.
Maywood- Cudahy Police Department Det. Scott Cameron said it will be nearly impossible to determine exactly what happened because there were no independent witnesses.
The driver, who works for the Corona-based firm All American Asphalt, told police he did not see Weichinger. The investigation, which included an inspection of the truck, found no evidence that the driver was traveling more than 5 mph.
“There have been some people out there saying they saw the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed,” Cameron said. “To this date, I have yet to interview or find anyone that can substantiate it.”
Friends set up a memorial with candles, photos and a large white cross on the bike path a few days after Weichinger’s death.
His son, Alfredo Weichinger of Santa Maria, Calif., pleaded for witnesses to come forward and left a clipboard for people to write down anything they saw.
“Any information on workers and how they were driving when my dad was killed. Please. Please call me,” his sign reads.
Alfredo Weichinger said his father will be remembered as a gregarious man who was active in retiree circles and who looked forward to swimming and walking several times a week to stay in shape.
He said he has hired a wrongful-death attorney while he awaits a police report on what happened.
“I would like justice. I want the real story,” he said. “This could happen to anybody.”
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