Boy, 12, Fatally Hit by Vehicle in South L.A.

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 12-year-old boy was fatally hit by a vehicle Tuesday while walking to school in the South Los Angeles area.

The boy died about 7:30 a.m. at the scene, the 100 block of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

A bystander attempted to perform CPR on the boy, identified by the coroner's office as Abraham Trejo, but he died despite that action and the quick arrival of emergency personnel. He died of cardiac arrest.

Trejo, who would have turned 13 in May, was on his way to Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School, LAPD Detective Moses Castillo told the Los Angeles Times.

The driver, a 43-year-old woman, made a left turn from Woodlawn Avenue onto Martin Luter King Jr. Boulevard. Trejo, who was less than a block away from his home, was halfway through the intersection when he was hit. The driver said she didn't see him, Castillo said. The driver and the boy both had green lights.

The motorist remained at the scene and was interviewed by police. She had finished dropping off her daughter at school and claimed she was not distracted by her phone, Castillo said.

"She's also very distraught," he said.

"I don't understand why God took him away from us," Abraham's brother, Ricardo Trejo, told KTLA. "I don't understand why a lot of bad things happen to nice people."

Badge of Heart, a nonprofit founded by LAPD Officer Ken Lew, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the Trejo family with funeral costs and other expenses. It's at https://www.gofundme.com/f/12-year-old-fatally-struck.

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--City News Service