Roses Grow Where Strollers Died

One year after four pedestrians were killed when a suspected drunk driver slammed into them at a Glendale intersection, a rose garden was dedicated to the memory of the victims on the median divider where the accident occurred.

More than 200 Glendale residents walked silently to the divider at the north fork of Verdugo Road and Canada Boulevard at dusk Thursday, many holding hands, bearing flowers and weeping softly in memory of the two young mothers and daughters killed on July 13 of last year.

Valerie Cramer, 32; her daughter Brianna, 9; Patricia Carr, 36, and her daughter Karen, 6, were waiting on the median divider while on an evening stroll about 8:30 p.m. when a speeding car struck them on the unprotected island, witnesses said.

Billy Cramer, 12, the only survivor, said during a preliminary hearing in January that he saw the car coming and threw himself flat before he could yell a warning. He suffered a broken finger and an injured knee.

Community Outraged

The accident gave rise to widespread community anger at drunk drivers and shock at the deaths. In April, Glendale city officials allocated $16,000 to create the memorial. The plants in the garden were paid for by private donations.

As hundreds of pink and white balloons reading “Please Don’t Drink and Drive” were released, Bill Cramer, whose wife and daughter were killed in the crash, held a friend’s hand and stared at the garden.

“Before it was landscaped, I used to cry every time I went by this,” Cramer said. “Now it’s pretty. It makes it bearable. And the roses look like the girls.”

The garden is planted with four varieties of pink floribunda rose bushes, each representing one of the victims. The memorial also includes a granite plaque engraved with the victims’ names.

The city has since installed guard rails to protect pedestrians on the island and changed traffic signals to slow approaching vehicles.

The driver of the car, William K. Conway, 27, is free on bail pending a trial scheduled to begin Sept. 13 in Pasadena Superior Court. Conway is charged with four counts of manslaughter and one count of causing an accident with injuries while driving under the influence of alcohol.