Child Crushed While Riding Horse

David Ochoa was a student at Sunnyside Elementary where an event is planned for 6 p.m.

A San Diego boy died after the horse he was riding fell on top of him officials said.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said the 10-year-old boy was riding the horse around noon Tuesday at Sweetwater Regional Park in Bonita.

Giannantonio said the boy’s horse got caught in utility wires and lost its footing.

When the animal fell, the boy was crushed beneath the weight of the horse.

He was rushed to Radys Children’s Hospital where medical staff pronounced him dead.

Horses and riders are a common sight and there are several stables and trails in the area.

One of the boy's former teachers stopped by a memorial at Proctor Valley and San Miguel and identified the victim as David Ochoa.

Tony Perez was not only the boy's teacher but also his soccer coach. He saw David just moments before the incident.

"He was on a horse and I waved to him and he waved back, and I just went on my merry way," Tony Perez said.

Perez shared a photo of David on a horse (pictured right). It's not known if this was the horse David was riding at the time of the incident.

"He's such a bubbly young man and just full of life and that's the tragic part," Perez continued. "It's a student who just embodied everything you'd like to see and someone that you knew was going to be successful in life and now here it is..."

Perez said David even once shared his love for horses with his friends at school.

"As a matter of fact earlier this year he brought horses to school to share with his classmates to teach them about the responsibilities and the love that he had for horses," Perez said.

Adrian Ledesma, 9, was friends with David and stopped by the memorial with his mother.

David Ochoa was a student at Sunnyside Elementary where an event is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday to celebrate his life.

Perez said the boy was the middle child with four siblings.

His parents were mourning privately and told Perez they were glad their son died doing something that he loved.

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