The parents of a preteen killed while crossing the street in Encinitas are asking the city to improve street safety. They don’t want anyone else to experience their grief.
Their daughter, 12-year-old Emery Chalekian, was killed on April 25 while crossing Encinitas Boulevard in a marked crosswalk by a driver allegedly running a red light.
“My body and my soul left, separated,” John Chalekian, Emery's father, said.
He wants the city to declare an emergency to tap into state money for safety improvements.
“I want to talk about the action, which is just demonstrate we don't have a kids-versus-car community," he said. "Please, because that's what it is right now."
With back-to-school season underway, the pain is especially tough for Bridget Chalekian, Emery's mother.
“Emery would have started middle school last week,” she said.
The Chalekians and other parents have started a grassroots campaign, saferstreetsencinitas.org, to raise awareness for pedestrian safety. John Chalekian said drivers are speeding through Encinitas without regard to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
“A bicyclist and my daughter were both killed within a quarter of a mile of one another on that strip of Encinitas Boulevard," he said. "That quarter of a mile of Encinitas Boulevard — it's taken more lives this year and has put us over the San Diego County annual average for 100,000 deaths.”
Laura Van Dusen, a friend of the Chalekians, is terrified of her son walking the streets of Encinitas. She wants the City Council to act to keep children safe.
“It's absolutely a driving force of why I am showing up at these (City Council) meetings," Van Dusen said. "I have kids who, in a few years will need to cross Encinitas Boulevard to get to their middle school and their high school.”
In June, the City Council voted to place the emergency declaration on the agenda for its next meeting after the July recess. But that declaration has yet to be added to the agenda.
On July 3, the Chalekians filed a tort claim against the city, which is the first step toward a lawsuit. Typically, in cases like this, when there’s a threat of a lawsuit, the city council won’t add the issue to the agenda. That’s because even a simple discussion about safety improvements could be seen as an admission that the intersection was unsafe.
The Chalekians said they are not interested in suing the city. They just don’t want anyone else to go through what they went through.
“Put yourselves in our position, experience what we're experiencing, understand that our primary objective is for the safety of our community and the children in this community,” John Chalekian said.
In a statement, the city said it is committed to maintaining street and traffic-related safety.
"These efforts include ongoing monthly traffic enforcement blitzes, the anticipated addition of two new traffic deputies, (Local Highway Safety Improvement Program) Cycle 12 projects expected to be considered by City Council this fall, ongoing evaluation of traffic and safety plans, and continuing work on road improvements, pavement rehabilitation, striping and ADA upgrade projects," the city of Encinitas said in an email. "To the extent that a claim has been presented to the City in connection with that incident the City cannot comment on the pending claim and threat of litigation."
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office said an investigation is ongoing and did not provide any additional details about the fatal crash.
