Truck hits children Halloween night, one dies

PORT BOLIVAR — Two boys headed to a Halloween night gathering at the Port Bolivar fire station were struck by a pickup while crossing the road. One died and another remained hospitalized Tuesday, authorities said.

Ernest Rodriguez, 12, and Christian Balderrana, 11, both of Port Bolivar, had just hopped from the bed of a pickup when they crossed the street into the path of an oncoming truck.

A medical helicopter flew the boys to the University of Texas Medical Branch, where Rodriguez was pronounced dead Monday evening, Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said.

Balderrana suffered cuts and abrasions and was stable at the hospital, Tuttoilmondo said. Balderrana’s injuries weren’t life threatening, Tuttoilmondo said.

Tuttoilmondo said he didn’t know whether the boys, both Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School students, were related. Neither was wearing a Halloween costume.

The boys were traveling west on Broadway in the back of a pickup driven by Balderrana’s father. They were headed to a Halloween gathering at the Port Bolivar Volunteer Fire Department, 1806 Broadway, Tuttoilmondo said.

“He stops in front of the fire station and has to turn across a lane of traffic to get there,” Tuttoilmondo said.

The father had to wait for oncoming traffic to pass before making the turn into the fire station on the south side of the road, Tuttoilmondo said.

“The kids, apparently sensing the truck has stopped, jump out and run across the road, and a Toyota Tundra headed eastbound hit them,” Tuttoilmondo said.

The Tundra, which was driven by a 52-year-old Beaumont man, stopped a short distance away.

Authorities didn’t reveal the driver’s name Tuesday. After consulting with the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, the Beaumont man wasn’t charged with any crime or infraction, and deputies at the scene had no suspicions he was intoxicated. The man has a house in Crystal Beach, Tuttoilmondo said.

Volunteer firefighters at the station immediately rushed to provide medical care to the boys and called for a helicopter ambulance, which took both children to the medical branch.

Rodriguez was pronounced dead at 9:37 p.m. Monday, Tuttoilmondo said.

Deputies were awaiting results from an autopsy to determine Rodriguez’s cause of death.

Sheriff’s office investigators worked through the night examining evidence and factors that contributed to the accident, Tuttoilmondo said.

The Tundra was towed from the scene and remained in the possession of the sheriff’s office.

No Charges Filed

In certain circumstances, it is permissible for children to ride in the bed of a pickup, Tuttoilmondo said. The issue would be part of the investigation, he said.

“They continue to confer with prosecutors as their probe develops,” Tuttoilmondo said. “But as of this time, no criminal charges have been preferred.”

Rodriguez, a sixth-grade student at Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School in Crystal Beach, was a member of the school’s basketball team. The school district intends to name the gymnasium after him, Johnston Farrow, a Galveston school district spokesman said.

The district sent grief counselors to Crenshaw to assist students with the loss, Farrow said.

Principal Eric Paul spoke to students Tuesday.

“I addressed the school about the celebration of life as opposed to the sadness of death,” Paul said in a statement. “We want students to be able to have feelings of grief, sadness and sorrow, but we hope they will eventually remember (Ernest) for his charisma and everything he stood for. He was a very likable kid and will be missed.”

The school will display Rodriguez’s basketball jersey, No. 12, in the gymnasium rafters in his memory, Farrow said.