Nearly 300 people attended a vigil Sunday evening in Burlingame to pay tribute to four-year-old Ayden Fang, who was run down and killed by a driver earlier this month.
"We would like to unite the community and improve pedestrian safety here in California," said Ming Fang, Ayden’s father. The child's uncle and a school teacher also addressed the crowd.
The family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for counseling costs. Additionally, "we want to expand the use of these funds to also include pedestrian safety initiatives in the city as well as creating a memorial scholarship in Ayden's name at his school, FSM Montessori."
At the vigil, Ming also talked about how two nights before the tragedy, his son built a model out of Lego which included the words "Protect our City." Ming interprets that as a plea for street safety in Burlingame.
Area street safety advocates released a statement with the details about the crash:
- On Friday 8/8 after 6 p.m., a 19-year-old San Mateo resident (unidentified) was leaving Parking Lot D on Donnelly Street in downtown Burlingame in an SUV (not a sedan, as originally indicated by the Burlingame Police Department (BPD))
- While exiting the parking lot the driver collided with an e-bike rider who was heading eastbound on Donnelly. According to the Police, the e-bike rider had the right of way and was following all state and local traffic laws. (Note that initial reports gave many the impression that the e-bike rider was in violation of the law and was responsible for the crash and even the SUV driver’s acceleration onto the far sidewalk.)
Ayden and a six-year-old girl, who was also injured, were playing on the far sidewalk.
Advocates, in their statement, pointed out that Ayden was the third pedestrian to die in Burlingame in the past eleven months and listed facts about traffic violence in the city.
- Last September, a driver killed Yolanda Villar, a single mother of a special needs child, while she was in the crosswalk on Peninsula. This led to an outpouring of concern from Burlingame and San Mateo residents.
- In March, a driver killed 61-year-old Arlene Ocampo who was walking at the intersection of Trousdale and El Camino in Burlingame.
- Burlingame is a City of only 31,000 residents. That is ~10 deaths per 100,000 residents. This is higher than the death rate in the most dangerous cities for pedestrians in the US.
- A few years ago, an 18-year-old driver intentionally ran over several children with an SUV in Burlingame.
Meanwhile, Burlingame police officers were among those who attended Sunday night's vigil. Below is a picture of some of the officers' parked cars blocking the crosswalk and daylighting zones, next to the mostly empty parking lot where the vigil was held (note this location was less than 200 feet from where the boy was killed):
For more, check out NBCBayArea's coverage. Some additional pictures below.
