VAN NUYS : Signal Installed at Site of Girl’s Death

A new traffic signal will be activated on Tuesday at a Van Nuys intersection where a 3-year-old girl was killed and her mother injured after being hit by a van last year, a spokesman for City Councilman Joel Wachs said Friday.

The four-way traffic signal at Saticoy Street and Densmore Avenue is being installed to prevent further accidents involving children, particularly those attending nearby Cohasset Street Elementary School, said Wachs spokesman Mark Freed.

The intersection currently has a two-way stop sign that controls traffic on Densmore Avenue but not on Saticoy Street, Freed said. The new signal was being considered before the child was killed, he said.

In March, 1993, Deborah Rojas of Van Nuys was crossing Saticoy Street with her mother, Veronica Rojas, when they were struck by a van turning onto Saticoy from Densmore Avenue. The child died of injuries she suffered in the accident. The mother was treated for cuts and bruises.

The driver of the van was not cited for the accident.