A 13-year-old former Hollister resident was killed while walking
to school in Salinas when a car hit her as she was crossing a
street on Monday.
A 13-year-old former Hollister resident was killed while walking to school in Salinas when a car hit her as she was crossing a street on Monday.
Alejandrina Trujillo, who moved with her mother and step-father to Salinas a year ago, was struck by a Dodge Dakota pick-up truck at 7:46 a.m. as she was attempting to cross the street at the intersection of South Main Street and San Joaquin Drive in Salinas, according to Salinas police.
“She usually walked with friends or by herself – it was routine,” said her mother, Adriana Acosta. “She came into my work that morning and said ‘I love you, mom’ and goodbye and all that stuff. Then she walked out the door and down a block and got hit by a car.”
Acosta, who is expecting a baby next week, works at a back and neck-pain relief center on East San Joaquin Street – just one block from the site of her daughter’s accident.
Trujillo attended Sacred Heart Catholic School from kindergarten to fourth grade, Gabilan Hills Elementary School, and finally Margaret Maze Middle School until transferring to Washington Middle School in September.
Washington Middle School provided grief counselors for students on Monday and Tuesday, said Principal Bernie Nuño.
A number of students frequented the counselors’ services to talk about their schoolmate, Nuño said.
“There were a few close friends she had that were extremely touched,” he said.
Trujillo was taken by ambulance to Salinas Municipal Airport and was air-lifted to San Jose Medical Center, where she was taken into surgery, said Salinas Police Sgt. Bob Eggers.
She succumbed to her injuries, which included multiple blunt force injuries and a ruptured artery in her heart, at 11:34 p.m., said Monterey County Deputy Coroner Tom Jenkins.
Her family, including Acosta, her father, Hollister resident Isidro Trujillo, her step-father, Salinas resident Devon Ferry, and her grandparents were at the hospital.
“She was in surgery and she just couldn’t hold on,” Acosta said.
Trujillo was hit by Soledad resident Patsy Lozano, 26, who was driving in the left turn lane at the busy intersection, Eggers said.
Alcohol, drugs and speed do not appear to be factors in the accident, Eggers said. But because Trujillo was walking in the middle of the road instead of in the crosswalk about 20 feet away, police believe Lozano didn’t see Trujillo until it was too late, he said.
“It was extremely traumatic for the driver,” Eggers said. “It’s the last thing you’re expecting to happen at 7:46 in the morning. For everybody involved … it’s a horrible thing to have to deal with.”
The case is still being investigated by the Salinas Police Department and an autopsy is scheduled today at the Monterey County Coroner’s Office.
Trujillo’s family is uncertain of many of the details surrounding her death and are still in a state of shock, her father said.
“Maybe my daughter just wasn’t paying attention, I don’t know,” he said. “We’re holding up as best we can.”
