Maija Gary and Shelby Nelson
46 minutes ago
Locals are calling for safety improvements at a dangerous intersection in Riverside County after an accident that killed an 8-year-old boy earlier this week.
Home security video obtained by KTLA showed the driver of a white Honda sedan apparently losing control and veering into the path of a gray Nissan sedan on Arlington Avenue and Stover Avenue.
A spokeswoman for Riverside Police said four occupants of the Nissan vehicle, an adult woman and three boys, were taken to hospital with serious to serious injuries. The 8-year-old boy later died from his injuries.
Family friends say the mother is forced to go back and forth between hospital rooms grieving for her 8-year-old son.
Residents in the area claim that speeding is still a problem in this section of Arlington Avenue and they are fighting for more traffic lights.
Alelio Munoz Jr., aka Jr., who would have turned 38 this year, was murdered at the same intersection three years ago. His mother, Joaquina Reyes, said he was a very sweet son and needed extra support.
“It was so hard without him. My son was a special person. He was always with me,” she said.
Reyes said he was driving with his son near his home on Arlington Avenue in Riverside when a driver emerged from a speeding turn and crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on. She said her son was reacting after the accident and had to help neighbors drag him out of the car.
Doctors then amputated Junior’s leg, but after more than a dozen surgeries, he died in January 2020.
“It’s such a shame that the city hasn’t done anything to fix the street,” Reyes said. “I hope more people can drive safely through the area.”
Reyes said he decided not to drive through the area anymore because he remembered the heartbreaking tragedy of losing his son.
A City of Riverside spokesman told KTLA that the city had approved the installation of traffic lights at the intersection, but that they would not be installed until October. Residents are scrambling to get the improvement work put in place sooner and are planning to hold a regional meeting in the coming weeks to discuss possible changes.
