Slain Driver Was in the Wrong Place at Wrong Time, Police Say

Silvia Servin did everything right. She locked her car door. The windows were rolled up tight as she waited for a red light to turn green. But none of that helped.

On Tuesday, an urban nightmare became shockingly real when Lovel Ferguson, who was fleeing a gunman, ran up to the passenger side of Servin’s 1980 Chevrolet Citation, smashed the window and desperately clawed his way inside.

A few seconds later, police said, Richard Moreno came up behind Ferguson, pointed his laser-sighted 9-millimeter pistol into the car and fired several rounds, killing Ferguson and Servin.

The car accelerated through the 79th Street intersection, crashed into a northbound minivan and then ran off the road, smashing into a church wall, said LAPD Det. Richard Marks.

Servin, 36, was not connected in any way to Ferguson or Moreno, Marks said. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and may have lived if not for the red light.

“That could’ve been your wife, your daughter or your sister,” he said.

The alleged gunman was caught by police officers who were patrolling Main Street and happened upon Moreno shooting at Ferguson, Marks said. Moreno did not resist when he was confronted by officers. Servin and Ferguson were pronounced dead at the scene. Moreno was booked on two charges of murder, Marks said.

Authorities could not say why Moreno was pursuing Ferguson.

Alfonso Servin, the victim’s brother, said he could not believe what happened. Since her husband died in a traffic accident four years ago, Sylvia Servin lived a life dedicated to her children, who ranged in age from 5 to 16.

“She was a caring person to everyone,” said Alfonso Servin in his South-Central home, where somber relatives gathered to mourn. “Unlike other widows, who in a few months or a year date someone else, she said that her priority was to help her children get ahead until they were older.”

Servin was a Mexican national who arrived in Los Angeles in 1984, her brother said. Four days a week she drove to school from her South-Central home to take English classes. She had just passed her citizenship exam and her dream was to be sworn in as a U.S. citizen.

“Silvia was learning English to help her children with their homework,” said Tomasa Serafin, Servin’s sister-in-law. “Since her children were moved from bilingual classes to English classes, she wanted to be able to help them, to be able to stand by them.”

Servin’s relatives hope to be able to obtain a humanitarian visa so that the victim’s parents, who live in Mexico, may be permitted to attend their daughter’s funeral in Los Angeles, Alphonso Servin said.

A fund has been established to help Servin’s family with funeral expenses. Donors can send contributions to St. Odilia Church, 5222 S. Hooper Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90011.

The victim’s four children will remain with their mother’s close-knit relatives, who live next door to them, the brother said.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Servin of his sister’s death. “I say that it isn’t possible, but it’s reality. . . . Nothing can be done now.”