The family of a teenager killed while riding a scooter to his middle school is pushing for a crossing guard near the intersection where he was killed.
The family of 13-year-old Giovanni Valle is joining with others in requesting more crossing guards.
Just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Valle was struck by a red compact car near Sierra Middle School at Sierra Street and Streeter Avenue in Riverside, according to the Riverside Police Department. The driver possibly ran a red light, police said.
Mourners paid tribute to Giovanni at a makeshift memorial on Friday. Friends and students wore his favorite color, blue.
"We want somebody to help us," said Giovanni's sister, Veronica Valle. "We want our voices to be heard."
In September, a car hit one of Danielle Wood's two daughters at a similar spot near the school. Sarah, 12, suffered only a bruise.
"I'm worried we're going to have more deaths," Wood said. "I'm worried that the next time I get a phone call that my daughter's been hit by a car, it's not going to be as easy as it was this time."
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Only one of four spots where children frequently cross has a crossing guard. A school spokesman said they have a budget to place crossing guards where they see fit.
The district is now looking into adding more.
These parents rallying for crossing guards are not alone.
Last month, school and city officials rallied in memory of a mother killed by a big-rig truck on the way to her daughter's school in Hollywood.
A crossing guard was requested for at Fountain and Bronson avenues but denied because of "limited resources," officials said.
A week before, residents of Upland marched for crossing guards at an intersection that hadn't had one for almost five years before an 11-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run on the way to his elementary school.
"Today was my brother. I don't know who's going to be next, and I hope there's nobody next," Veronica Valle said.
