Hit-Run Victim Remains on Critical List

A 6-year-old South-Central Los Angeles boy remained in critical condition Wednesday after he was run down along with his mother and two brothers in a hit-and-run accident, hospital officials said.

Amos Ramirez suffered two broken legs and blunt trauma to the head as he crossed Central Avenue at 87th Place on Tuesday. His brother Bryan, 3, suffered blunt trauma to the head and body and was listed in stable condition,.

“It’s too early to tell how the 6-year-old will do, but the 3-year-old is improving,” said Inez Beckon, a spokeswoman for Martin Luther King Jr./ Drew Medical Center.,

The incident occurred as Edith Ramirez, 28, crossed the street with her three sons in tow, police said. The mother and a 2-year-old son were not injured.

Israel Castro Mejia, 60, of Watts was arrested in connection with the accident after police traced him through a license plate that had fallen from the car that hit the Ramirez family, Los Angeles Police Det. Bill Whittaker said.

Mejia is being held in lieu of $35,000 bail and faces possible felony hit-and-run charges, Whittaker said.

“It’s much better to stop and render aid,” Whittaker said. “When individuals leave the scene, they have a greater chance of going to state prison.”

Teachers and staff at Russell Elementary School, where Amos is in first grade, stressed the importance of pedestrian safety to the school’s more than 1,300 students Wednesday.

“It is always more personal and more significant when tragedy visits our neighborhood and impacts people we know,” said Russell Principal Peggy Taylor-Presley.

Presley said parents have canvassed the area near the school and have collected donations to help pay the Ramirez family’s medical expenses. Donations can be made to the Russell Elementary/Amos Ramirez Fund, she said.

Enrique Guillen, 18, the son of the Ramirez’s baby sitter, said he wished motorists on Central Avenue would slow down.

Whittaker wished the Ramirez children well and pointed out that a suspect is still at large in another hit-and-run accident that left Los Angeles Police Sgt. Lyle Young seriously injured.

Young suffered a broken left leg and tailbone when he was hit during a vehicle stop last Friday near Adams Boulevard and Brighton Avenue, police said.