{"id":43382,"date":"2013-09-23T16:00:21","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T23:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=43382"},"modified":"2013-09-23T18:01:53","modified_gmt":"2013-09-24T01:01:53","slug":"family-mourns-loss-of-crash-victim-pleads-for-4-way-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/09\/23\/family-mourns-loss-of-crash-victim-pleads-for-4-way-stop\/","title":{"rendered":"Family mourns loss of crash victim, pleads for 4-way stop"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Family<\/a>
Family and friends of 49-year-old Arturo De La Torre (early photo top right) gathered around a cross Monday morning at the site where De La Torre was killed in a car crash on Sept. 21.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 Arturo Leuvanos De La Torre<\/strong> was a loving husband, father of three, and grandfather of two. The 49-year-old always had a ready smile and hug for everyone he met, according to wife Luisa Luevanos.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The cross bore a photo of a young smiling De La Torre and his wife Luisa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe was the sweetest man you would ever want to meet,\u201d she said, while choking back tears. De La Torre\u2019s wife, his sons and several family members gathered Monday morning at the intersection of 10th<\/sup> Street East and Avenue G, the site of the fatal collision that took De La Torre\u2019s life this past weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really sad that both of my kids are not going to be able to know their grandfather, have fun with him, spend time with him,\u201d said son Arturo Leuvanos.<\/p>\n

De La Torre was in a pickup truck that was broadsided by a car that ran a stop sign on 10th<\/sup> Street East, causing both vehicles to careen off the road into a ditch.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the passenger so he got the whole impact, he was crushed,\u201d wife Luisa said, adding that she was at work when she heard the tragic news.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The crash sent both vehicles off the road into a ditch. (Photo by ED FROMMER)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her husband had been getting a lift home from Food 4 Less around 6:25 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 21) and was less than five minutes away from home at the time of the crash, Luisa said.<\/p>\n

Driver Erazmo Arroyoayala<\/strong> and De La Torre were in a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck headed eastbound on Avenue G when their vehicle was hit by a Honda Civic that drove through a stop sign on 10th Street East, according to a California Highway Patrol report.<\/p>\n

The pickup truck had the right of way because Avenue G is not controlled by a traffic control device or stop sign at that intersection, CHP officials said.<\/p>\n

\"Family<\/a>
Family members placed the cross at the intersection of 10th Street East and Avenue G Monday morning in memory of De La Torre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three of the five people in the Honda Civic were also killed in the collision \u2013 driver 22-year-old Marissa Fritz<\/strong>, 17-year-old Breanna Heyrend<\/strong> and 17-year-old Roland Mohan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Luisa said she was not upset with the other party over the loss of her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a mother, and I could just imagine losing children, especially that young and that many,\u201d Luisa said. \u201cAll I ask for is a four-way stop so we could not lose any more lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luisa joined family members and residents in calling for a four-way stop to replace the two- way stop at the intersection of Avenue G and 10th<\/sup> Street East.\u00a0Lancaster resident Carla Greenwood said her sister nearly died at that very same intersection more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The cross joined another cross for the three other people killed in the collision. (L to R) Marissa Fritz, Breanna Heyrend, and Roland Mohan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI almost lost a sister, I did lose a good friend, and I\u2019ve been asking for 15 years for something to be done. I\u2019m hoping this wakes up the community,\u201d Greenwood said, adding that she, too, almost got hit in the intersection by a service truck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish they would put a four-way stop, a blinking light, something\u2026 it needs to be done,\u201d Greenwood continued.<\/p>\n

Lancaster commissioner Dr. Miguel Coronado said he would be helping the family in lobbying for a four-way stop or traffic device at the intersection. Coronado said he was mobilizing an effort through his organization, Agents of Change, a humanitarian group focused on the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the people that I know and care for are asking, \u2018what do you need?\u2019\u201d Luisa said. \u201cWe\u2019re just asking if you could support us in getting a sign out here for other people\u2026 Maybe something good could come out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would make me the happiest if we could make a change and not wait another 15 years,\u201d Luisa continued.<\/p>\n

The family is hosting a car wash fundraiser to help cover the cost of De La Torre\u2019s funeral. The fundraiser will be held from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at the smog gas station on 10th<\/sup> Street West and Avenue I in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

For more information about the car wash fundraiser or to join the effort to get a four-way stop at the intersection of 10th<\/sup> Street East and Avenue G, contact Agents of Change at 661-466-6810.<\/p>\n

Previous related story<\/span>: Lancaster crash kills four, victims ID’d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Arturo Leuvanos De La Torre was a loving husband, father of three, and grandfather of two. The 49-year-old always had a ready smile and hug for everyone he met, according to wife Luisa Luevanos. \u201cHe was the sweetest man you would ever want to meet,\u201d she said, while choking back tears. De La […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}