A 59-year-old parolee was behind bars today on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing a collision that killed a 12-year-old bicyclist in Costa Mesa.
Richard Lavalle of Long Beach is being held without bail, according to jail records.
The collision happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday at Junipero Drive and Arlington Drive, according to police.
Noel Bascon and his father were riding their bikes when the boy was struck by a pickup truck that went through a stop sign while eastbound on Arlington, police said.
A passerby attempted CPR on the boy, and officers arrived and continued life-saving measures, but the youngster died at a hospital.
Lavalle was arrested at the scene, and Lee Anna Diaz Murphy, 56, of Artesia, who was in the passenger seat, was booked on suspicion of possession of controlled substances and unlawful drug paraphernalia, police said.
This same man, was evaluated for mental illness in 2015. Richard LaValle underwent a mental evaluation. My biggest concern is if this man had an episode such as this, how is it possible that he is driving with a driver’s license. He should have not had driver’s license approved after this incident.
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/01/18/man-accused-of-threatening-to-shoot-long-beach-golfers-in-custody/
Now, we lost a 12 years old boy 5 years after this episode. A family is suffering for their loss which is unimaginable for anyone. How did this man slip through the cracks?