12-year-old bicyclist dies after being struck by suspected impaired driver near Costa Mesa skate park

Costa Mesa police detectives are investigating a fatal collision that occurred Sunday evening, when a 12-year-old bicyclist was hit by a rented moving truck operated by a suspected impaired driver in a crosswalk near the city’s skate park.

Officials reported Noel Bascon of Costa Mesa and his father were riding bicycles near the juncture of Junipero and Arlington drives shortly before 5:55 p.m. Sunday and had entered the crosswalk, when a vehicle traveling east on Arlington failed to stop at the stop sign and struck the youth.

Bascon was thrown several feet into the air by the impact, according to a release. A passerby who’d witnessed the collision began administering CPR on the boy until first responders arrived on scene.

“The officers continued CPR and administered an [automated external defibrillator] until Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue medics arrived,” the release stated. “The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

The Costa Mesa Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation team arrived and interviewed the driver and passenger of the truck, both of whom remained on the scene and were subsequently arrested.

The driver — Richard Lavalle, 59, of Long Beach — was booked on suspicion of murder, driving under the influence and a parole violation. The passenger, Lee Anna Diaz Murphy, 56, of Artesia, was arrested for possession of controlled substances and unlawful paraphernalia.

Costa Mesa police are asking anyone with additional information about the fatal traffic collision to contact Traffic Investigator Kha Bao at (714) 754-5264.

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