n By Emily Alpert and Serdar Tumgoren Staff Writers
Gilroy
– Terri Schoepe hoisted a handmade red flag over her shoulder.
Two girls, toting pastel backpacks, scurried behind her as she
crossed Welburn Avenue Wednesday afternoon. Flowers and teddy bears
sat clustered on the corner behind them: a tribute to 5-year-old
Julio Gonzalez, who died Tuesday after
a truck hit him on his walk to school.
Gilroy – Terri Schoepe hoisted a handmade red flag over her shoulder. Two girls, toting pastel backpacks, scurried behind her as she crossed Welburn Avenue Wednesday afternoon. Flowers and teddy bears sat clustered on the corner behind them: a tribute to 5-year-old Julio Gonzalez, who died Tuesday after a truck hit him on his walk to school.
Schoepe isn’t a paid crossing guard. She’s a parent and a Welburn Avenue resident who says she’s doing what needs to be done.
“If the school or the city won’t be responsible for this,” Schoepe said, “the parents have to be. It’s a bloody shame.”
Gonzalez was the third pedestrian killed in Gilroy in less than four months, and the second in days, after environmentalist Norman Watenpaugh, 76, was hit and killed Sunday night on Wren Avenue, a site now marked by yellow flowers and a glittering collage.
Gonzalez’ death echoes that of Brayan Trejo, a 5-year-old boy killed at 10th and Church streets in June. There, weather-worn teddy bears and a flag bearing Brayan’s name continue to remind drivers of his untimely death.
The driver who hit Trejo, Robertina Franco, is facing vehicular manslaughter charges. The district attorney has yet to decide if the drivers who hit Watenpaugh and Gonzalez will be charged.
But as parents and residents cope with Tuesday’s tragedy, lawyers for the Trejo family are considering another culprit: the city.
“It strikes as strange indeed that we have three fatalities in a matter of a few months in a small town like Gilroy,” said Charlie Hawkins, a personal injury lawyer representing the Trejo family. He’s investigating whether the city should be held responsible for the boy’s death. “Statistically that’s one hell of an anomaly.”
Governments are traditionally immune under state law for liability in traffic accidents, Hawkins said, unless it can be shown in court that poor engineering caused an accident, or that public officials ignored warning signs about the dangers of a road. Hawkins and his partner Paul Caputo have hired an engineering consultant to review the intersection where Trejo died, and they plan to investigate if the city or school district received complaints about the site. Family and friends say a left-turn signal at the intersection would have saved the young boy’s life.
The partners have about a month to finish their investigation and file a lawsuit against the city in the Trejo accident.
“We have not decided whether or not we are going to proceed against the city in the Trejo case,” Hawkins said, though it remains a possibility.
Emily Alpert covers public safety issues for The Dispatch. She can be reached at 847-7158, or at [email protected]. Serdar Tumgoren, Senior Staff Writer, covers City Hall for The Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7109 or at [email protected].
