BY KATY MOELLER

kmoeller@idahostatesman.com

© 2012 Idaho Statesman

The Meridian neighborhood plans to take action in hopes of preventing future collisions after an SUV struck a young cyclist Thursday morning.

Ten-year-old William Passero was hit in a crosswalk near a traffic circle — Horse Loop Circle — in the Lochsa Falls subdivision, just south of Chinden Boulevard and west of North Linder Road. The boy was cycling beside his mother, who was jogging. He was not wearing a bike helmet.

Lochsa Falls homeowner association president Butch Hatch said he was “devastated” by the death. He and the other two members of the HOA board for the 692-home subdivision took swift action Thursday after communicating via email.

“We’ve already contacted our property management company to find out if they can get rid of the yield signs and put in stop signs,” Hatch said.

He said that the subdivision has had problems with speeding and Ada County Highway District has done counts to see if speed bumps are warranted.

“Every time we’ve done that, they say, ‘No, we don’t qualify,’ ” Hatch said.

The HOA board has not received complaints about the bushes near the sidewalks obscuring motorists’ view of pedestrians crossing the street, Hatch said. But the board plans to remove much of them.

“As soon as we get the OK from Meridian police, pretty much all the landscaping will be yanked,” Hatch said. “Everything near the crosswalks near Horse Loop will be yanked.”

Horse Loop Circle is a large grassy island with trees and bushes — so large there are waterfalls — and a committee is discussing installing a pool there. Right now, the area is used for Frisbee and other activities.

The rosebushes and trees on Horse Loop have been there since the subdivision was built about eight or nine years ago. The bushes are trimmed annually.

“We trim them down as much as we possibly can,” Hatch said.

IDENTITY NOT RELEASED

The accident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The front end of the SUV struck the young bicyclist, who was riding alongside his mother, according to two people who were at the scene soon after the collision.

The Ada County coroner’s office publicly identified the boy Friday morning. An autopsy report says the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death was an accident. The blunt-force trauma include a severe injuries to the boy's head, Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg said.

No charges have been filed against the 70-year-old Meridian woman who was driving the Nissan Xterra. The driver, whose name has not been released, was the only person in the vehicle, according to Meridian police.

Investigators saw no indication that drugs or alcohol was a factor in the collision, Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea said. There also were no signs of cellphone use or texting, he said.

The posted speed limit in the subdivision is 25 mph. Basterrechea said police won’t know how fast the SUV was traveling when it hit the boy until a reconstruction of the crash is completed.

VISIBILITY LIMITED

Roseane Sorhouet, a mother of two who lives in Lochsa Falls, said motorists do drive too fast in the neighborhood. She said the bushes also make seeing pedestrians difficult.

“It’s hard for me to look at coming traffic,” said Sorhouet, who has lived there seven years. She said she’s had some close calls.

“I almost hit a kid also — they’re kids, they’re not paying attention,” Sorhouet said. “I tell my kids to be careful and to look five times or 100 times because if you get hit, it’s just ‘sorry.’ ”

She and her son, Sean, 12, walked to the crash site and placed a bouquet of flowers near a makeshift memorial Thursday afternoon.

Hatch said the subdivision’s amenities attract people who live outside the neighborhood. Thursday afternoon, a woman and two children rode the wrong way around the traffic circle — against vehicle traffic — and stopped to ask a passerby what all the commotion was about.

Katy Moeller: 377-6413