SURGERY STARTS FOR GIRL HIT BY TRUCK; POLICE PANEL SEES PROBLEMS IN CASE.

Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer

An infant girl underwent the first of several surgeries Monday for injuries caused when she and her mother were struck in a hit-and-run accident linked to an LAPD officer who later took his own life.

Doctors at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles cut away damaged skin Monday from the back of 10-month-old Leslie de la Cruz, who received ``road rash'' burns when she was dragged more than 600 feet after her stroller became lodged under a hit-and-run vehicle Thursday night. Hospital officials said Leslie was in fair condition after the surgery. Her mother, Juana de la Cruz Mercado, 23, remained in guarded condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Also on Monday, police commissioners said they are anxious to be briefed today, saying there are many questions about the accident and the police investigation that need to be answered.

Bryce Wicks, 54, a 28-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran, shot himself in the head Friday, as police detectives closed in on him as a suspect.

Witnesses to the accident at Lankershim Boulevard and Arminta Street in Sun Valley supplied police with a partial license plate number and a description of the vehicle as a Ford Bronco or pickup truck. Police worked into the night checking Department of Motor Vehicle records to see whether they could match it to the suspect vehicle.

Their efforts yielded about a dozen license plates registered to vehicles that fit the general description provided by witnesses, a source familiar with the investigation said.

When they narrowed the search to a Ford Bronco, only two names came up in Los Angeles County - an unnamed motorist and Wicks.

That information, according to Detective R.S. Uber of the Valley Traffic Division, became available Friday afternoon.

By then, Wicks, a fingerprinting specialist described by co-workers as quiet and low key, was several hours into his day shift at the North Hollywood Division.

Valley Traffic investigators telephoned the division, and told a commanding officer to instruct Wicks to ``stand by'' because they were on their way over to talk to him, said Sgt. William Guerrero, LAPD spokesman.

Investigators never told North Hollywood officers why they wanted to talk to Wicks, and nothing was done to make sure that Wicks stayed at the station to wait for investigators.

``It's not like they knew for sure he was a suspect. Had that been the case, (detectives) would have used additional precautions,'' said LAPD Commander David Kalish.

According to officials, Wicks slipped away and drove to his home in Acton and shot himself about 3:30 p.m. after officers arrived.

An autopsy on Wicks was performed Saturday. The results of toxicology tests, which will screen for alcohol, drugs and narcotics at the time of Wicks' death, may not be available for several weeks, said Los Angeles County Coroner's Office spokesman Scott Carrier.