Deadly ‘Freak Accident’ Prompts Memorial Trail Ride to Imperial Beach

Horse riders set off on a memorial trail ride to Imperial Beach on Saturday to help raise money for the family of a 10-year-old Bonita boy killed when the horse he was riding got caught in wires and fell on him last week.

David Ochoa-Alvarado was riding in Sweetwater Regional Park with his family around noon Monday, July 1 when "his horse got caught in wires that held a telephone pole to the ground and rose onto its hind legs" and fell on top of him, according to U-T San Diego.

On Saturday, riders came together at Blanco Brother Stables in the Tijuana River Valley for a memorial trail ride to Imperial Beach, with one rider calling David "more of a horseman than we all are," in a CBS 8 report.

The report stated that the proceeds from Saturday's ride would help David's family with medical and funeral costs. The David Ochoa Benefit Account has also been established at Mission Federal Credit Union.

The special ride followed a vigil that was held Wednesday for the Sunnyside Elementary School student, who would have started the fifth grade this fall, according to 10News. The boy's principal, Dawn Minutelli said he was "just incredible" on his horse.

"He actually came to school last year, he and his brother, and they actually roped and rided, did a little assembly for the students and showed their roping skills," Minutelli told the TV station.