Angel Román Mendoza López loved football and dreamed of one day becoming a police officer.
Angel, 13, died after being hit by a car while crossing the street on his electric scooter Friday afternoon, according to the Pomona Police Department.
Officials said the boy was not wearing a helmet at the time.
Angel was riding his scooter on the sidewalk on the north side of San Antonio Avenue around 2:30 p.m. when he attempted to cross the street and was struck by a car going south. Another vehicle parked on the side of the road was blocking the views of both Engel and the driver, said Pomona Police Cpl. Neal Woelfel.
“He had barely entered the street,” Woelfel said.
Angel was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital and later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Orange County where he died, Woelfel said.
The growing popularity of electric scooters being offered for public use on roadsides and footpaths has been accompanied by an increase in reports of accidents, leading to lawsuits and calls to regulate two-wheelers. In August, a 9-year-old boy was killed and his older brother was struck by a suspected drunk driver while riding an electric scooter in Koreatown. Last year, 19-year-old Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer player Lauren Turner died about six weeks after she and a teammate were hit by a box truck while riding an electric scooter on a road near campus.
Angel’s family told ABC7 that Angel was driving to a friend’s house when he was hit by the car.
“He was a good kid; a golden heart,” said Karen Torres, Angel’s cousin. told ABC7. “The last call from my aunt and her was, ‘Mom, I’m home from my field trip.’ And he told her, ‘I love you.’
The driver involved in the crash remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Woelfel said.
Torres started gofundme Helping Angel’s aunt and uncle afford his funeral expenses. As of Tuesday morning, more than 200 people had donated more than $14,000.
“Our entire family is struggling with this profound and sudden loss, and we are struggling to come to terms with the future without his bright spirit among us,” Torres wrote on the fundraiser.
He wrote, “We have unwavering faith that Angel is now at peace in heaven, and we take solace in knowing that we will be reunited with him one day.”
