Father struggles with death of son, 3

Eron Ben-Yehuda

“You really don’t cope,” said Shawn Dugan, whose 3-year-old son, Joshua

Dugan, was killed Friday. The Huntington Beach boy died after being

struck by a neighbor backing a car out of a driveway.

“You feel pain. You feel some anger and [then] you go numb for awhile,”

Dugan said.

At about 7 p.m. Friday, Joshua was riding his tricycle on the sidewalk

near the intersection of Cornell Drive and Bolsa Park Lane when a 1991

Ford Thunderbird, driven by Raymond Vaughn II, 24, struck the toddler,

Huntington Beach Police Lt. Ron Burgess said.

Paramedics rushed the child to Huntington Beach Hospital before he died

of traumatic injuries a short time later, Huntington Beach Police Officer

Mike Kelly said.

No drugs or alcohol were involved and no charges have been filed, but

police continue to investigate, Kelly said.

“It’s just one of those horrible, tragic situations that, unfortunately,

happen once in a while,” he said.