Anaheim DUI crash leaves boy dead, 5 others injured

ByDarsha Philips and ABC7.com staff KABC logo
Monday, October 20, 2014
Anaheim crash leaves boy dead, 5 others injured
A 10-year-old boy was killed and several others were injured in a crash in Anaheim on Saturday night.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- A 10-year-old boy was killed and several others were injured in a crash in Anaheim on Saturday night.

Police say the driver of a black pick-up truck who apparently caused the accident was arrested for possible DUI. Police believe the man, identified as Gary Hunt, 41, of Orange, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

The crash happened just before midnight at the intersection of Euclid Street and La Palma Avenue. The boy, identified by family as Isaiah Rafael Ramirez, was riding in the back seat with his two siblings in a silver Toyota Camry. The family was stopped at the intersection, when their car was rear-ended by the pickup truck, police said.

The collision pushed the Camry into the intersection, where it was then side-swiped by a Honda Civic.

The boy was taken to the hospital, where he died. As of Sunday morning, his parents and two siblings, a girl and an infant, were said to be in critical condition. Family members said they were expected to be OK.

Isaiah Rafael Ramirez, 10, was killed when an alleged DUI driver crashed into his car in Anaheim on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2014.

One person in the Civic was also injured.

The family was returning from a late-night dinner at Norm's Restaurant after spending the day at a festival, relatives said. A small memorial of candles began growing at the scene by 7 a.m.

Darcy Tovalino witnessed the accident and tried to help. She returned to the site Sunday morning to leave a candle at the memorial.

"I saw that there was kids and my instinct was just, get the little ones out," Tovalino said. "I got the little girls out. Someone helped me with the car seat and we took the little girls across the street. And then the boy, they brought him over here to this side, and they were working on him, but...They took him as fast as they could. I guess he didn't make it."

Anaheim police first reported that the boy killed in the crash was 9 years old. Family members later clarified that he was 11. The coroner's office said he was 10.

The crash remains under investigation.