Ice cream truck kills boy in LA, prompting crowd to attack driver

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Neighbourhood residents attacked the driver of an ice cream truck after it struck and killed a seven-year-old boy riding a motorized bike in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The child had been riding alongside the truck Wednesday when he apparently slipped for an unknown reason and was caught under a rear wheel, police Sgt. Timothy Colson said.

The collision was an accident and the driver, who sustained bruises in the beating, has not been charged, police said. His name was not released.

The driver told police that bricks were thrown at his truck and someone threatened him with a knife. He was taken to a police station for protection. Police were searching for the attackers.

The child died at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said Officer Nuria Venegas, a Los Angeles police spokeswoman.

“I walked outside and he was on the ground, bleeding,” Karen Black, who lives in the neighbourhood, told KCAL-TV. “I just tried to comfort the family, you know, because they were hollering and screaming.”

Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter identified the child as Jamarion Thomas.

The motorized bike, a teddy bear and candles were part of a memorial that loved ones assembled on the spot where the accident happened.

Neighbour Jackie Johnson described Thomas as “a lovely little boy.”