A mother dropping her own children off at a middle school in Byron killed a 12-year-old boy on a bicycle just before classes started on Monday, telling authorities that she first thought she ran over a ball.
California Highway Patrol Officer John Fransen said the boy, identified as Burgess Hu, was wearing a helmet when he was killed just before 8 a.m. near Excelsior Middle School in eastern Contra Costa County.
Fransen said the woman, who was not identified, was driving less than 10 mph and was taking a right-hand turn at Byron Highway and Hoffman Lane as her black GMC Yukon struck the boy. The CHP first said the SUV was a Chevrolet Suburban.
It's unclear why the woman didn't see the12-year-old.
Fransen said after the mother realized it wasn't a ball that she hit, she turned around and has been cooperating with authorities.
He said the CHP does not anticipate any charges will be filed against her.
On June 12, 2008, a mother, Adriana Fierro De Marin, was charged with two misdemeanors after prosecutors said she killed Breanna Slaughter-Eck, a sixth-grade girl riding a bike away from Hoover Middle School in San Jose.
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In that case, De Marin was charged on one count of vehicular manslaughter and one count of driving while unlicensed. De Marin was on her way to pick up her own daughter from school that day.
