Published Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 | 10:10 p.m.
Updated Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 1 p.m.
A 7-year-old boy who died Thursday after jumping from the back of a pickup truck and hitting his head on the pavement in the east Las Vegas Valley has been identified as Saul Arellanes-Guzman of Las Vegas.
The Clark County coroner’s office said an autopsy was to be performed today.
Metro Police responded shortly before 3:30 p.m. Thursday to the incident on Heatherton Avenue just south of East Owens Avenue and west of North Hollywood Boulevard.
Authorities said evidence and witness statements indicate a 2000 Ford pickup truck was coming to a stop to drop off some children when Arellanes-Guzman jumped from the bed of the truck. He then tripped and struck his head on the pavement, investigators said.
He was taken to University Medical Center, where he died shortly after arrival as the result of a head injury, police said.
The other children in the pickup truck, Miriam Castillo, 10, Jocelyn Alverez, 9, Octavil Castillo, 7, and Jesus Arellano, 9, all of Las Vegas, weren't injured. The driver, Noelia Guzman-Campos, 32, of Las Vegas, also wasn't injured.
Metro Police said it is illegal for anyone under age 18 to ride in the open bed of a pickup truck. The department's Accident Investigation Detail is continuing to investigate the incident.
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