A 6-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle on the 1500 block of Pacific Beach Drive died after being hit by a car as he was crossing an alley near Ingraham Street Saturday afternoon at around 3:45 p.m., according to the San Diego Police Department.
Authorities have identified a 32-year-old woman as the driver who fled the scene after impacting the 6-year-old twice.
According to investigators, the driver hit the child as she was turning into the alley. They say that she stopped for several seconds and then ran over him as she took off.
The boy was transported to a hospital where he died.
The suspect’s vehicle was found in National City at a later time, and the driver was taken into custody.
Neighbors in the area say that the street is always very busy with both drivers and pedestrians.
Chandra Kaul, who lives near the intersection, urges drivers to slow down and for pedestrians to pay extra attention saying, “I think it’s really important to slow down and make sure everybody is paying attention.”
Other neighbors like Valeria Carrillo say that other people in the area have also been hit by cars traveling at a high rate of speed, “this neighbor, she just told us she was hit a year ago crossing, and then the next-door neighbor has been hit twice crossing.”
Police ask that anyone with information related to the incident call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
A San Diego Police cruiser at a crime scene. (FILE photo courtesy of SDPD)
San Diego police were searching for an armed robbery suspect Saturday in Lincoln Park, where a Subway sandwich shop was held up.
Officers were dispatched to the 300 block of Euclid Avenue at about 2 p.m. Saturday after the masked suspect displayed a firearm and fled with money from the cash register, according to the San Diego Police Department.
No injuries were reported and the scene was active and ongoing, with multiple officers in the area searching for the suspect, police said.
Hiram Sanchez, who was wanted on a felony warrant, was observed by deputies in the 7100 block of Broadway on Dec. 18 and placed in handcuffs. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Sheriff’s Office)
A 36-year-old felon who escaped while he was being arrested in Lemon Grove by San Diego County Sheriff’s Office deputies was at-large Wednesday.
Hiram Sanchez, who was wanted on a felony warrant, was observed by deputies in the 7100 block of Broadway Dec. 18 and placed in handcuffs, authorities said.
During the arrest, Sanchez ran from deputies onto State Route 94. Because of the danger to deputies, they did not pursue him on the freeway, authorities said.
A search involving a San Diego Police Department helicopter, California Highway Patrol officers and a sheriff’s K-9 unit was unable to locate Sanchez, authorities said.
The San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force is actively looking for Sanchez, who is considered dangerous and is believed to be somewhere in East County, possibly in El Cajon or La Mesa.
Sanchez was described as a Hispanic man, about 5 feet, 9 inches tall weighing around 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white hat, black shirt, back athletic pants and white shoes.
Anyone seeing Sanchez is urged to call 911, the San Diego County Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at 888-580-8477 or the Lemon Grove Sheriff’s Substation at 619-337-2000.
A San Diego Police cruiser. (File photo by Chris Stone/Times of San Diego)
A pedestrian suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a motorcyclist in the Pacific Beach community of San Diego, authorities said Saturday.
The crash occurred about 9:20 p.m. Friday in the 1900 block of Garnet Avenue, the San Diego Police Department reported.
A 35-year-old man was walking southbound on the east crosswalk — against the red “Don’t Walk” signal — when he was struck by a 21-year-old man riding a Suzuki 1500 motorcycle eastbound in the 1900 block of Garnet Avenue.
The 35-year-old man suffered a lacerated liver, a fractured femur and several other fractures. The biker sustained multiple abrasions. Paramedics rushed the 35-year-old man to a hospital. It was not known whether the motorcyclist was sent to a hospital.
DUI was not suspected and there was no other immediate information available.
Anyone with any information regarding the crash was urged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
Authorities released video of Huy Ly, who was fatally shot by San Diego police last month. Here he appears to turn and point a weapon at approaching officers moments before he is shot. (Image from San Diego Police Department via YouTube)
Authorities on Friday released video of a man who was shot to death by San Diego police after allegedly bringing weapons onto the grounds of a City Heights school.
Around 6:45 a.m. Sept. 23, officers received a 911 call from a school official about a trespasser, later identified as Huy Ly, 41, sitting near the auditorium of Fay Elementary School, 4080 52nd St., according to the San Diego Police Department.
During that call, played at the start of the footage released by the department, the dispatcher asked if the man was armed and the official told her that he could see a handgun beside him. He also told the dispatcher that the man “looks like he didn’t understand me,” when he tried to speak with him.
A short time later, officers located Ly, with what appeared to be a handgun next to him and a knife in his hand. They repeatedly ordered Ly to surrender and drop his weapons – one officer warned, “drop what’s in your hands or you are going to be shot.”
In the video, the officer can be heard issuing the order in English and calling for it to be translated into Vietnamese.
Police said they performed “de-escalation” efforts to contact Ly, but those efforts were not successful, nor were attempts to subdue Ly with bean-bag rounds or the use of a K-9 unit. At least 10 officers advanced on Ly at that point, one yelling, “let me see your hands!”
Ly then can be seen running a nearby alley with a couple of the officers in close pursuit. In the video the department isolates a still in which it appears he is holding a handgun in his left hand. When Ly exits onto Orange Avenue from the alley, he seems to turn to face the officers from the left side. Two officers then fire multiple shots at him from several feet away.
Investigators later determined the object in Ly’s hand was a replica, not a real firearm. A knife, police said, was found in the alley where they first spoke to Ly.
The California Department of Justice issued a statement in September which said that its shooting investigation team had been assigned and that the case would be turned over to its special prosecution section for review.
A 2020 law requires the California Department of Justice to investigate officer-involved gunfire resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state.
It was not clear why the shooting in San Diego falls under the provisions of the legislation, since SDPD had reported that the suspect was armed.
A close-up photo of a San Diego Police officer. (File photo courtesy San Diego Police Department)
A man was taken into custody after he allegedly barricaded himself inside a room of a hotel with a firearm, prompting a SWAT standoff in Kearny Mesa, authorities said Friday.
Officers responded around 8:30 p.m. Thursday to a male suspect who reportedly pointed a rifle at employees of a Courtyard by Marriott hotel at 8651 Spectrum Center Blvd., according to the San Diego Police Department.
Police said after the suspect went inside the room, the area was temporarily evacuated.
About two dozen law enforcement personnel were assigned to the standoff, but no injuries were immediately reported, the department stated.
The suspect was taken into custody around 4 a.m. Friday.
A Bird eBike. (File photo courtesy of the company)
Law-enforcement agencies and healthcare professionals from across the county sought to raise awareness Monday of safety issues surrounding the use of electric bicycles and electric motorcycles.
Authorities said in a statement they wanted to highlight “the growing safety concerns and enforcement challenges surrounding the illegal and unsafe operation of electric off-highway motorcycles, often marketed or mistaken for e-bikes.”
State law allows Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes to operate on public roadways and bike paths, according to the San Diego Police Department.
However, “high-powered electric motorcycles are not street legal,” officials said.
Not only can electric motorcycles not be registered for street use, they also “lack the required safety equipment and do not meet Department of Motor Vehicles standards for operation on public roads,” officials said. “Riders who operate them in traffic face citations, fines and the impound of their vehicles.”
SDPD Cmdr. Benjamin Kelso said the Monday event was “about education, safety and protecting our communities.”
“Families need to know the difference between a legal e-bike and a high-powered motorcycle that are not street legal to ride,” Kelso said. “These vehicles are putting young riders, drivers and pedestrians at risk.”
Physicians are seeing a rise in serious injuries connected with the electric vehicles “and that is very concerning,” said Dr. Ning Lu, a trauma surgeon at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
Education and awareness “are key because one wrong decision on these machines can change a life forever,” said Dr. Vishal Bansal of Scripps Mercy Hospital.
“Many of patients are children and teenagers who suffer broken bones, head trauma and other preventable injuries,” added Bansal, medical director of trauma at the hospital.
Public safety leaders offered these safety tips for e-bike riders:
— ride in bike lanes, roads or bike paths that allow them;
— don’t ride on crosswalks (which are for pedestrians only), near businesses or on sidewalks;
— ride in the same direction as traffic and use bike lanes when available;
— obey all traffic signs and signals, just as motor vehicle drivers do;
— passengers are only allowed if the e-bike is designed for them; and
— helmets are required for riders under 18 (and for all ages for Class 3 bikes).
More information is at https://www.sandiego.gov/police/bike-safety.
Along with Scripps Health and SDPD, other agencies that participated in the Monday event were the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office; California Highway Patrol; California State Parks; and the Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa, National City, Oceanside and San Diego Harbor and San Diego Unified School District police departments.