Mexican Boy’s Freeway Death Sparks Outcry

In an accident that prompted cries of anguish from the Latino community, an 8-year-old boy became the 11th person to die this year near the Interstate 5 Border Patrol checkpoint in San Diego County, hit by several cars as he, his mother and five others dashed across the freeway in early morning darkness Wednesday.

The boy was believed to have been an illegal immigrant from Mexico on his way to visit relatives in Orange County. All others killed this year also were believed to be immigrants trying to elude the Border Patrol. The boy, Constantino Loreto Marin of Acapulco, was struck about 12:15 a.m., authorities said.

“One death is enough, but this is turning into a death watch there in San Clemente,” said Msgr. Jaime Soto, vicar of the Hispanic community for the Orange County Catholic Diocese. “Every time this occurs, I just think that it jolts the community. There’s a deep ache that everyone feels that reminds us once again of the tragic and darker side of immigration from Mexico.”

The boy’s death prompted Orange County church and community leaders to demand that state and federal agencies take stronger action to end the carnage that has claimed the lives of 33 pedestrians since 1987.

Soto said a Catholic Mass is planned for Aug. 24 in Serra Chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano to commemorate the immigrants who have died on that stretch of highway between Oceanside and San Clemente.

The Orange County Coalition for Immigrant Rights has scheduled a meeting on the morning of the memorial service to discuss solutions to the widening problem of freeway deaths involving illegal immigrants. They have invited Roberto Martinez of the American Friends Services Committee, a human rights group in San Diego.

“It just makes me sick,” said Martinez when he learned about the 8-year-old. “It seems like every week there’s a tragedy there. I feel helpless and frustrated that we haven’t been able to do anything to reduce the number of deaths yet. But it’s not like we haven’t tried.”

For two years, he said, his group has been meeting with Caltrans, Border Patrol officials, state legislators and others to come up with ways to reduce the danger.

Various government agencies--including the California Highway Patrol, the state Department of Transportation and the U.S. Border Patrol--have taken action to reduce the risks, but the fatalities continue.

Among the department’s efforts have been the pruning of roadside brush that provides cover for immigrants; the improvement of lighting in trouble spots; the posting of flashing signs to warn motorists; and a public awareness campaign aimed at both immigrants and drivers.

Caltrans now plans to install huge overhead flashing signs on two major freeways between the U.S.-Mexican border and San Clemente. Most drivers are not aware of the possible presence of pedestrians on the freeways, authorities say.

“We’re very concerned about the problem, and we’re seeking solutions in a number of ways,” said Anita Yoder, a Caltrans spokeswoman in Sacramento.

Mario Rodriguez of San Clemente, an official of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Latino civic rights group in the country, said the increase in traffic deaths is a reflection of the growing number of immigrants from Mexico.

“Things are bad in Mexico right now and there is work here, so people are risking their lives to survive,” Rodriguez said. “And many people don’t realize the speed of the cars. These freeways are a lot different than the roads in Mexico.”

Rodriguez said LULAC also is working with the Mexican government to inform Mexican citizens about the risks if they choose to illegally enter the United States.

“People are brought to a certain point and then they’re on their own,” Rodriguez said of immigrant smuggling operations. “Information has to be passed along to these people so that they understand a lot of the dangers . . . and what kind of chances they are taking with their lives.”

Many of the deaths near the San Clemente Border Patrol Station are handled by San Clemente Fire Department paramedics. Over the last two years, the overall number of emergency rescues near the checkpoint, including pedestrians hit by cars, has risen, according to San Clemente Battalion Chief Gene Begnell.

“It’s just been real, real brutal lately . . . the injury cases have been very graphic,” Begnell said. “And those kinds of things get tough.”

The boy killed early Wednesday was believed to have been on his way to the Anaheim-area home of relatives, according to the Mexican consul general in San Diego. However, his exact destination and the identity of his family in the United States was not available, said Marcela Merino, a Mexican consular official.

He, his mother Angelica Marin, and three unidentified siblings were crossing from west to east when the youth was struck in the southbound lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP Officer Stephen Tomasiak said Sharon K. Frisby of Mesa, Ariz., hit Loreto Marin while going about 60 m.p.h. in a rented 1990 Chevrolet Corsica. Frisby was not cited because there was nothing she could have done to avoid the youth, Tomasiak said.

The boy’s family was standing in the freeway’s center divider when firefighters and patrol officers arrived after the accident. The boy “was the last in line” as the family crossed the roadway, said Begnell, who added that Frisby had tried to swerve around family members and their companions. “She couldn’t miss them all.”

Times staff writer Wendy Paulson contributed to this report.