Angel Roman Mendoza Lopez loved soccer and had dreams of one day becoming a police officer. <\/p>\n
Angel, 13, died over the weekend after he was hit by a car while crossing the street on his electric scooter Friday afternoon, according to the Pomona Police Department. <\/p>\n
The boy was not wearing a helmet at the time, authorities said. <\/p>\n
Angel was riding his scooter on the sidewalk northbound along San Antonio Avenue at about 2:30 p.m. when he attempted to cross the street and was struck by a car driving south. Another vehicle that was parked along the curb of the street was blocking the views of both Angel and the driver, said Pomona Police Cpl. Neil Woelfel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had just barely entered into the roadway,\u201d Woelfel said. <\/p>\n
Angel was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital and was later transferred to Children\u2019s Hospital of Orange County where he died, Woelfel said.<\/p>\n
The growing popularity of electric scooters, including those offered for public use on street corners and sidewalks, have been accompanied by an increase in reports of accidents, prompting lawsuits and calls to regulate the two-wheeled vehicles<\/a>. In August, a 9-year-old boy was killed<\/a> and his older brother injured when they were hit by a suspected drunk driver in Koreatown while riding electric scooters. Last year, Lauren Turner,<\/a> a 19-year-old Cal State Fullerton women\u2019s soccer player, died nearly six weeks after she and a teammate were hit by a box truck while riding electric scooters on a road near campus. <\/p>\n Angel\u2019s family told ABC7 that Angel was heading to a friend\u2019s house when he was struck by the car. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was a good kid; a golden heart,\u201d Angel\u2019s cousin, Karen Torres, told ABC7<\/a>. \u201cThe last call that my aunt and him had was, \u2018Mommy, I got home from my field trip.\u2019 And he told her, \u2018I love you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The driver involved in the crash remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Woelfel said.<\/p>\n