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On Monday, we published my reporting on the death of Alessa Fajardo, a 4-year-old girl who was killed by a driver while walking to school with her mother in October of 2019.
In the roughly 15 months since Alessa died, her parents, Erica and Jaime Fajardo, have been waiting for the woman who killed their daughter to be held accountable and for the city to make safety improvements on Olympic Blvd. and Normandie Ave. in Koreatown.
Shortly after Alessa was killed, city workers restriped the crosswalks at the intersection, but as I reported, further improvements remained pending or unfunded.
Then on Wednesday morning, workers with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation installed new safety features at the intersection, including at the crosswalk where Alessa died.
Death In A Crosswalk: The Killing Of A 4-Year-Old Shows LA s Failure To Stop Traffic Violence
By Ryan Fonseca
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Alessa Fajardo is 4 years old and a superstar. It says so on the badge her mother pins to her clothes as she gets ready for school.
It s a high honor for the preschooler, who s been chosen to lead her class that week at Mariposa-Nabi Primary Center in Koreatown.
It s Oct. 16, 2019, a Wednesday morning. Alessa s mom, Erica Fajardo, packs her daughter s lunch bag. It has a rainbow on it Alessa says it s her favorite color, since she can t decide among the others.