LAS VEGAS — A 16-year-old Las Vegas boy died after he struck a cable stretched across a paved trail while driving his minibike, authorities said in a report released on Thursday.
Angel Naranjo died from injuries to his neck on the Las Vegas Wash Regional Trail shortly after midnight PDT on July 30, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The teen was driving his minibike along with his 19-year-old brother, the newspaper reported.
Officials with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that Naranjo was riding ahead of his brother when the cable hit his neck, KVVU-TV reported. The boy fell off his bike and witnesses said he was found sitting up against a wall for a brief moment.
The cable was tied to a pole from a fence across the pathway, according to the Review-Journal.
Police said that “a hanging cable from the fence was observed over the west side of the fence,” KLAS-TV reported.
A friend of Naranjo told KVVU that the trail is “notoriously dangerous.”
“He was a child and he wasn’t out trying to harm anybody and you’ll pay for what you did, whether it’s this life or next,” John Lemarr told the television station. “It’s a culture problem right now, life isn’t valued. It’s a struggle we’re all going through, that somebody’s little boy that died.”
According to Clark County’s website, the trail was part of the Las Vegas Wash Regional Trail, a shared-use path that “provides a critical link to the trail systems in the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.”
The website for North Las Vegas describes the trail as a 10-foot wide asphalt path designed to accommodate a variety of users including pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, skateboarders, strollers and wheelchairs.
According to the website, the trails are not intended for motorized use or equestrians, the Review-Journal reported.
An investigation is ongoing. Police are working with the Clark County Coroner’s Office to determine the cause and manner of death, KVVU reported.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Naranjo by friends and family members.