Police: child ‘wandered’ into road

The driver of a Jeep was not responsible for striking an eight-year-old boy near a bus stop in Laguna Beach on March 25, Laguna Beach police have determined. But he should have stopped after realizing the boy had been hit.

If Douglas Ricker had stopped after the hitting the boy on Canyon Hills Drive he wouldn’t be facing possible criminal charges for hit-and-run, Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

“The boy wandered into the road,” Kravetz said. “He [Ricker] is not the cause of the accident, but he is liable for not stopping at the scene.”

The incident traumatized the close-knit neighborhood, on a private street in an outlying area of Laguna Beach.

Following the incident, parents immediately formed a volunteer crossing guard program in the neighborhood to make the area safer for children.

The boy, a student at El Morro Elementary School, was struck as he waited for a school bus with about a dozen other children and parents. Parents screamed at the driver, trying to get him to stop, and one man ran after the Jeep, pounding on the window, but the driver, Ricker, allegedly ignored their pleas and fled the scene.

The boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and was able to return to classes within the week of the incident. He suffered a hematoma after being hit in the left temple by the truck’s mirror, according to police.

Ricker, 55, a postal carrier, was arrested at his place of employment in Laguna Hills about two hours after the 7:20 a.m. incident, according to police. He is free on bail.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office is reviewing the case. Ricker is scheduled for arraignment in the case in May, according to spokeswoman Farrah Emami. In the meantime, the department will determine what, if any, charges will be pursued.