Cyclist knocked down and killed on Northern Highway
A young man met his untimely death as he headed home Sunday night. The eighteen year old was hit by a Pickup truck on the Northern Highway and died instantly. When News Five got to the scene, the lifeless body of the young man was lying near his crushed bicycle. Jose Sanchez reports.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
A fatal traffic accident occurred at seven-forty-five last night between miles four and five on the Northern Highway. Eighteen year old Valentin Escobar was killed while riding his bicycle to his residence at mile three and a half. His family is still grieving his death.
Carlos Bonilla Trochez, Step Father of Valentin Escobar
“He’s a young guy, yes eighteen years old. We know he had a problem about alcohol noh. We tried to tell him something about that anytime when he come to visit us; every time we tell he something about this problem and we try whenever he start to drink.”
Jose Sanchez
“So he like to drink?”
Carlos Bonilla Trochez
“Not all the time. Sometimes he drink but the point is he is not here with us, right.”
The police have questioned Teodoro Marin, the driver of the Ford Ranger that hit the teen. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.
A.S.P. Francis Williams, O.C. Traffic
“On the arrival they observed a male person lying on the right hand side of the highway with head and body injuries. I also observed a Ford Ranger within the immediate vicinity on the highway where the driver of the Ford Ranger made a complaint to police as to what had occurred out there while he was driving to Los Lagos.”
Jose Sanchez
“Okay, what did he say happened?”
A.S.P. Francis Williams
“Well, apparently he just saw a male person on the highway. He tried to avoid him by swerving to the right side of the road. The person was coming in the midst of his path and in so doing, he collided into this cyclist who eventually was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival by authorities there.”
Jose Sanchez
“If there will be charges, what charges would be levied against driver of the Ford Ranger?”
A.S.P. Francis Williams
“Driving Without Due Care and Attention, Causing Death by Careless Conduct and Manslaughter by Negligence would be the charges laid against this driver.”
Though the charges are pending, the family of the deceased would prefer that Marin assist them with the funeral arrangements.
Carlos Bonilla Trochez, Step Father of Valentin Escobar
“I no want do nothing about the driver. He knock my son, I know this was an accident. I don’t want nothing bad for him. I understand the situation. It’s an accident. I only just tell he to try to help we because we are a poor family. We don’t have enough money for the funeral.”
Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
