Police are seeking a hit-and-run driver, as well as witnesses, after a vehicle struck and killed a 14-year-old boy as he rode his skateboard in Monterey Park this week, officials said.
Joshua Madrid of Monterey Park died in the collision, which took place about 9:20 p.m. Monday at Atlantic Boulevard and Newmark Avenue, the Monterey Park Police Department said in a written statement.
Madrid “was struck by a vehicle while riding his skateboard across Atlantic Boulevard,” according to the statement. “The vehicle then fled southbound on Atlantic Boulevard.”
Paramedics took the severely injured teen to a hospital, where he was soon pronounced dead.
No description of the hit-and-run vehicle was available. But police released photographs of two vehicles, whose occupants were being sought as possible witnesses to the collision. One was a white or light-colored minivan, while the other was a dark-colored SUV.
A fund that was set up online by Madrid’s aunt, April Carson, had raised nearly $20,000 by Wednesday evening to help the family with funeral costs.
“Joshua Madrid was a vibrant kid whose smile beamed with love and kindness,” Carson wrote on the memorial website. “There is not a memory of Josh that I can remember where he wasn’t smiling!”
In addition to his parents, Madrid was survived by two sisters, a brother, two nieces and a grandmother, as well as many aunts uncles and cousins, Carson said.
Anyone with information was urged to contact Monterey Park police at 626-307-1200. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.