On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office has released the identity of a teen bicyclist who was killed in Santa Paula last month.
The VC Star reports that on September 23rd, 16-year-old Matthew Ismael Castanon was struck by a motorist in the 100 block of Santa Barbara Street in Santa Paula.
The Santa Paula Police Department said in a statement that the teen was taken to Ventura Medical Center in critical condition.
The teen was later transported to Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and remained in intensive care until he died of the injuries he sustained in the crash on Wednesday, October 1st.
According to police, the sedan driver that struck Castanon remained at the scene of the crash. Authorities say that the driver, whose identity was not released at the time of the report, was in full cooperation with investigators.
Impairment by alcohol or drugs did not appear to have been a factor in the fatal crash.
Fellow students and faculty in the Santa Paula community said that Castanon was a good student and a gifted athlete. He played on the school’s varsity boy’s basketball team as a sophomore.
“He was respectful, polite, and hard-working,” said Danny Guzman, athletic director for Santa Paula High School. “It was a shock. The whole school is still grieving,” he said.
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