Ramona Kindergartner Dies, Accidentally Run Over by Mother's Van

A 5-year-old girl who was accidentally run over and killed in Ramona by a minivan driven by her 42-year-old mother ran behind the vehicle in an attempt to open a gate, authorities said Friday.

The girl was fatally struck by her mother's 2000 Chevrolet Astro van on a private driveway at 3306 Carnation Road about 5:20 p.m. Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The girl's father, William Noble, identified his daughter as Bella, a kindergartner. He told reporters Thursday night that his wife was backing up and unaware that Bella and their other children were on the van's bumper, and that Bella had jumped off.

"The mother lost sight of her daughter and felt a bump at the rear of her vehicle and realized she may have struck her child," said a CHP statement released this morning. "Not realizing she had run over her daughter, she pulled forward and struck her child a second time."

Paramedics flew Bella to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, where she died a short time later.

"She was a beautiful girl... the sweetest spirit in the world," her father told KFMB.

The accident happened while the family was visiting the home of friends, Noble said.

-City News Service