Angry Residents Hold Vigil for Boy Killed in Hit-Run

More than 300 people held a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening in front of the South-Central Los Angeles apartment house where a 4-year-old boy was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The vigil showed that the community was not intimidated by the driver’s threat to kill any witnesses who might identify him, organizers said.

“The vigil is to support the family and send a message that such intimidation will not prevail,” said Calvin Naito, spokesman for Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who organized the vigil.

Daniel Maldonado was playing on a skateboard May 13 when he was run over by a suspected drug dealer in the driveway of the apartment building on Colden Avenue at Figueroa Street, said Officer Luis Hernandez. The driver got out of his car and watched the boy die, Hernandez said.

When the driver saw the boy’s teenage brother writing down his license plate number on a scrap of paper, he snatched the paper from the youth, the officer said.

“[The suspect] told him, ‘If you even dream of telling anyone about this, I’ll kill [you],’ ” Hernandez said. Both the boy and neighbors are afraid to talk to the police about the incident, Hernandez said.

Police said they believe they know who the killer is, but need witnesses to step forward to positively identify the man.

Those gathered for Wednesday’s vigil followed the child’s parents, Rodolfo and Manuela Maldonado, on a march around the block, shouting demands for justice. The procession concluded at the spot where Daniel died.

Using a bullhorn to address the crowd, Ridley-Thomas implored “whoever is responsible for the murder to turn himself in. We want our kids to be safe.”

Last week, the City Council approved a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of the boy.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the Police Department’s South Traffic Bureau at (213) 485-7742.