Hudson O’Loughlin 6-year-old boy killed in Pacific Beach, San Diego hit and run after Tiffany Sanchez, 32-year-old female driver strikes boy twice then flees scene leaving boy for dead. Driver yet to be charged.
A female driver in California is accused of striking a six-year-old boy while he rode his bicycle only to momentarily stop her car and strike the child a second time before fleeing the scene and leaving the boy for dead.
Hudson Stephen O’Loughlin was riding his bike on the sidewalk at the 4000 block of Ingraham Street with his father in Pacific Beach, a San Diego neighborhood, on Saturday around 3.45pm when 32-year-old driver, Tiffany Sanchez, struck him while he crossed an alleyway, the San Diego Police Department stated in a release.
Sanchez, who was turning when she hit the boy, stopped her vehicle for a couple of seconds before speeding away and hitting him again as she did so, according to authorities.
Pacific Beach hit-and-run driver, 32, flees scene leaving 6-year-old boy for dead
David Morrow, who was driving behind the woman at the time and witnessed the hit and run, recalled seeing the female driver ‘cut right into the alley‘ before running Hudson over ‘twice,’ according to CBS8.
‘Like, both wheels ran over the kid. She stopped right in front for about ten seconds. That’s when I pulled behind her and got her license number, and then she took off,’ Morrow further told the outlet.
He noted that a bystander, who was possibly a paramedic, jumped in to help Hudson.
‘He got up at first and was standing there all in pain, and then they laid him down, and he stopped breathing right in front of me,’ Morrow said of the boy. ‘It was sad, and then I left.’
‘He was only 6 years old. He didn’t even get to do anything with his life, he was just taken away,’ said Matthew O’Laughlin, the father of the young victim, Hudson O’Loughlin speaking to 10News.
The 6-year-old was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was shortly after pronounced dead.
6-year-old boy remembered as Fundraiser launched
The father said his instinct was to capture the driver’s license plate. The fleeing driver was later taken into custody after her car was located in National City, just 20 minutes from the scene.
Alcohol did not play a role in the deadly collision, cops told Fox5.
People living in the area of PB known as North Crown Point told NBC 7 on Monday that the streets nearby can be dangerous because of speeding drivers. Some say that the lack of safety may have led to the tragedy. There are no speed bumps, not many stop signs and a lot families living near Pacific Beach Drive
Hudson has been remembered by his family and friends as ‘a bright, curious child who loved all things science, and his energy was contagious,’ according to a GoFundMe page.
As of Monday evening, more than $56,931 had been raised to help out his grieving family. Hudson leaves behind his mother, father, younger brother, and countless loved ones.
Posted the victim’s mother, Juliana Kapovich (in part) on Facebook in the aftermath, ‘Being Hudson’s mother was the greatest honor of my life.’
32-year-old hit and run driver yet to be identified or charged
‘Hudson had a rare audacity — confident, fearless, full of zest for life. He knew exactly who he wanted to be: a military scientist. We made many trips to the library searching for books on science and the military. He excelled because he never gave up.’
The sidewalk on Pacific Beach Drive has become a growing memorial filled with flowers, homemade art and candles as residents pay their respects to the young boy. One candle read, ‘From one parent to another … I’m sorry for your loss.’
‘I just know it could’ve been me, my kids, it could’ve been my kid and it wasn’t,’ said one resident speaking to 10News who dropped off flowers at the memorial.
Authorities to date have yet to press any charges against the 32-year-old driver. Officials are asking anyone with information related to this incident to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
