By GABRIELLE ANDRADE
More than 50 community members packed into the Atwater City Council meeting on Monday night to rally for increased traffic safety on local streets after a young boy lost his life in a car collision while he was riding a bike in his neighborhood.
The death of 10-year-old Christopher Tejeda Jr. on April 30 has deeply moved the town’s residents, prompting widespread reactions and a petition for immediate traffic safety improvements. Tejeda was struck in the early evening by a truck while traveling on Bridgewater Street near Juniper Elementary School.
Many people who showed up to the Council meeting wore shirts in honor of Tejeda’s life. Among those in the audience were members of Tejeda’s family who spoke to city leaders during public comment.
“My son was loved deeply by this community,” said an emotional Christopher Tejeda Sr, his voice trembling while he tried to hold back tears. “[He] was energetic, kind hearted, athletic, full of life, and should be here today. No parent should ever have to bury their child because of speeding, distracted driving, unsafe residential streets, or obstructed roadway visibility in neighborhoods where children walk, ride bikes, and play every single day.
“This tragedy has shaken our family and this community to its core, and I am asking that it not be ignored.”
The Tejeda family, while still in mourning, have publicly sought to honor the young child’s life while working toward positive change in Atwater. The family created the community petition that helped to jumpstart a conversation with their fellow residents.
“The petition went around, gathering signatures within the local community, because this goes beyond our Christopher, this is about the children of Atwater,” said Felixnando Rodriguez Jr., Christopher’s grandfather. “This movement that I think we might want to start, starts here.”
He added, “We would just like you to consider what happened, why it happened, and how we could improve it. We’re not experts at traffic. We’re not experts at what the laws and the regs are. This mission of trying to speak for Christopher was thrown on her lap, unfortunately. We don’t want to be here, but we’re gonna be here. We need to bring attention to this matter, because it could happen again, and it might just happen again if we don’t do something about it as a city.”
Another member of the Tejeda-Salazar family, Richard Lopez, also provided public comment to advocate for safer streets. Lopez is the superintendent of the Merced River School District and a candidate for County Superintendent of Schools.
“When a child is killed while riding a bicycle, the community deserves answers,” Lopez said. “Families deserve to know whether warning signs were ignored, whether safety concerns were reported, and whether every responsible agency fulfilled its duty to protect the public. This is not about assigning blame for the sake of blame. It is about creating a culture of responsibility where safety concerns are taken seriously before tragedy occurs and not after. I ask that the City Council takes stronger action against those obstructing drivers’ line of sight. Tonight, I asked that our City Council take all actions to make sure that no other kids’ lives are lost on our streets. Tonight, I asked you to take action to commit to safer streets.”
Mayor Mike Nelson, alongside Council members John Cale, Danny Ambriz, Brian Raymond and Kalisa Rochester, attentively listened to the residents’ concerns. Following public comment, the elected officials discussed possible policies with community input, and necessary next steps to protect the children and pedestrians in Atwater. However, no formal action was taken that night.
“If the community is involved in the development of the policy, then the community should be more inclined to buy into this policy and follow this policy,” Councilwoman Rochester pointed out. “Whereas if we, as a city, say, ‘Here’s the policy, and this is what we’re going to do,’ and we’re relying on the police to enforce it. The police can certainly enforce it. But I will say that we, as residents, need to take responsibility for ourselves. We have certainly lost ourselves out there on the streets driving. We’re not paying attention to what we’re doing.
I see people driving so fast, you know, all over the place, passing people on double yellow lines. It’s absolutely ridiculous. We need to take responsibility for ourselves — but I will absolutely agree that we do need a traffic calming policy.”
Councilman Raymond agreed with a proposed new city street safety initiative, and called for increased police traffic enforcement and new collaboration with partnering agencies
“One thing we will do is name [a proposed policy] ‘Christopher’s law,’ so we can memorialize him through the city as well,” Raymond said.
Following Raymond’s comment, the entire room erupted into applause.
Mayor Nelson suggested immediate next steps for the Council.
“My proposal [is] that we get a draft report at the July 13 meeting that will include community input, and then a final report at the Aug. 10 meeting of what the plan will be,” the mayor said.