SAN DIEGO – The San Diego community of Kensington is reeling from a crash that claimed the life of a 6-year-old boy.
“I saw it right away. I was crying, I still am,” Kenneth Valenti said.
Police say the crash happened around 8 a.m. Wednesday, as a Jeep was crossing into an intersection from Biona Drive. It was hit by a Hyundai going east on Adams Avenue. The Jeep overturned with a 45-year-old man behind the wheel, his 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son in the back seats. Police say both were in safety seats.
The 6-year-old was taken to the hospital, but despite the best efforts of medical staff, he did not survive his injuries.
“We wanted to let him and his family know we’re thinking of him,” Brooke Garcia said.
Garcia’s daughter goes to dance class right across from where the crash happened and stopped by to leave flowers at the site.
“My mom told me about what happened and I thought it was really sad because it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t do anything to deserve what happened to him,” Myla Garcia said.
A man who did not want to be identified showed FOX 5 an email he received from his kids’ school, Franklin Elementary, indicating two students had been involved in a crash and one had died.
“I need to break this to my kids, even though we don’t know who it is or anything like that, to mentally get them prepared for tomorrow,” the man said.
Though police say it’s too early to determine a cause for the crash, for people in the area their attention turns to Adams Avenue where they say more needs to be done to slow traffic down.
“People go to fast here all the time,” Garcia said.
“Everybody is getting a hold of the city council representative to try to hopefully remedy the situation,” Valenti said.
Council President Sean Elo-Rivera represents the area where the crash happened and his office issued FOX 5 this statement:
“Earlier today, the Kensington community tragically lost one of its youngest members. My heart breaks for his family and my community. I will continue to mourn this loss as I walk my neighborhood and am even more motivated to continue to advocate for safe roads.”