Crime & Safety
Hayward 5-Year-Old Killed by Minivan Identified
Jose Luis Garcia was struck after he retrieved a ball that bounced to the other side of the street.
A 5-year-old boy who died from his injuries after being struck by a minivan in Hayward on Saturday was identified today as Jose Luis Garcia, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau.
The Hayward boy was struck at 12:48 p.m. Saturday near Dixon Street and Copperfield Avenue.
Related article: 5-Year-Old Boy Hit by Minivan in Hayward on Life Support
He was taken to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland and succumbed to his injuries Monday night, according to police. A preliminary investigation determined the boy, who lives in the area, was playing with other children in a driveway and ran after a ball that bounced to the other side of the street. He was struck while returning to the group with the ball, police said.
A 64-year-old woman driving a van south on Dixon Street said she reduced her speed after seeing a girl from the group in the driveway waving her hands in the air and did not see the boy running directly in front of her vehicle, according to police.
The woman is cooperating with investigators and alcohol and drugs are not suspected to be a factor in the collision, police said.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call Sgt. Jason Corsolini at (510) 293-7149.
—By Bay City News
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