On February 27, 17-year-old Christian Vega was struck and killed by a woman driving a 2012 Toyota Camry while in a crosswalk at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Newell Street. Every year, 37,000 people lose their lives in traffic crashes in the United States. In Los Angeles, 587 people lost their lives to traffic violence in the past three years; 64 of them in just the first six months of 2018.

On Sunday, March 24^th at 2 pm, families, neighbors, and advocates from Keep Rowena Safe, Elysian Valley Neighborhood Watch, LA River Communities for Environmental Equity, Southern California Families for Safe Streets (FSS), and Los Angeles Walks will host a public vigil in remembrance of Christian Vega, and to honor his surviving family members and friends and all those lost in preventable traffic collisions on Los Angeles streets.

This will be an opportunity for family, friends and neighbors to gather in memory and to demand attention and action around overdue and much-needed safety improvements to Riverside Dr. 

All are welcome. 

Traffic deaths and injuries are sudden, violent, traumatic events. Their impacts are long-lasting and permanent. Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death among children age 5-14 in Los Angeles County. What’s more, traffic fatalities and serious injuries are preventable.

If you know someone who survived a severe crash or who lost a loved one in a traffic collision, please reach out to SoCal Families for Safe Streets, a project of Los Angeles Walks.