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People have created a memorial honoring 4-year-old Ayden Fang, who was struck and killed by a sedan on the sidewalk last week on Donnelly Avenue in Burlingame.
In Burlingame, flowers, sweets and candles have been placed on Donnelly Avenue in memorial to 4-year-old Ayden Fang, who was struck and killed by an SUV while he stood on the sidewalk last week, police have said.
A 6-year-old girl was also injured in the Aug. 8 crash, which occurred when a 19-year-old female driver drove her vehicle onto the sidewalk and into neighborhood business Truffle Bar. The girl was transported to Stanford Hospital for treatment.
The driver pulled out of an adjacent city parking lot and collided with an e-bike traveling east on Donnelly Avenue. The e-bike riders, an 11-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl, were operating a Class 2, two-person bike legally and in accordance with traffic laws, Burlingame Investigations Lt. David Perna said.
After the collision with the e-bike, the SUV driver accelerated, crossing the street forward, over the curb and into the two pedestrian children and the restaurant, Perna said.
It marks the third pedestrian death in Burlingame over the past year. On March 11, 61-year-old Arlene O’Campo was crossing the street at El Camino Real and Trousdale Drive when she was struck in a fatal hit-and-run crash. Earlier last year, on Sept. 12, Yolanda Villar was struck and killed by a vehicle making a left turn from North Delaware Street onto Peninsula Avenue at the Burlingame-San Mateo line.
Pedestrian and street safety advocate Mike Swire is asking that the city take immediate action to make Burlingame safer for those traveling by foot or by bike.
“I hope that the Burlingame City Council and staff and police department are going to react with this sense of urgency that this deserves,” he said. “I would expect the city to declare a state of emergency and figure out why this is happening so much.”
Fang’s death occurred on a busy Friday night in downtown Burlingame, where all nearby parking spaces were occupied, Perna said. There’s metered parking spaces all along Donnelly Avenue, where the crash occurred, including one directly to the left of the parking lot exit where the sedan driver was.
Now is the time for Burlingame to reevaluate whether its parking layout and traffic management plans are adequate, Swire said.
“I think the city needs to do a rapid analysis of that corridor and make sure that the cars exiting onto the street have adequate visibility and, if necessary, it might be prudent to remove parking there,” he said.
Burlingame Mayor Peter Stevenson said he couldn’t comment on anything related to the investigation into the crash, but that the community was deeply saddened by the loss of life.
“Obviously, the city is hurting,” he said. “It’s a tragic event and our hearts go out to the families who were impacted.”
The investigation is ongoing in collaboration with neighboring agencies, Perna said, and if evidence is found that a crime has been committed, the case will be forwarded to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Note to readers: A previous version of this story said the car involved in the crash was a sedan. The story has been updated to reflect that the car was an SUV.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 105
Daily Journal staff
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Rocks, fossils, crystals, minerals, gems, and jewelry, beads, exhibits, educational activiti… Read moreGem and Mineral show
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(10) comments
As a long time resident of Burlingame...we are heart broken by this mishap and grieve for the family. I have no sympathy for Burlingame....we walk to McKinley elementary every day to drop our 7 year old to school and RISK OUR LIVES every day on El Camino. So do numerous families. We have petitioned both the town of Burlingame and Caltrain and both pass on the buck to the other agency...there is no pedestrian warning light or anything....just our lives to RISK and our neighborhood probably pays the highest property tax in Burlingame. NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING TILL A CHILD DIES ON THAT WALKWAY ON EL CAMINO
Happy to talk to the reporter on this appalling condition
It is possible to end traffic deaths in a suburb with lots of drivers.
https://www.spur.org/events/2025-03-04/vision-zero-action-how-hoboken-eliminated-traffic-deaths-and-what-we-can-learn
https://www.governing.com/transportation/how-hoboken-has-gone-years-without-a-traffic-death
Do our cities here on the Peninsula _want_ to end traffic deaths? Or are we going to just shrug, and let our friends and family continue to get mowed down by negligent drivers?
Hard to believe the legality of a 10 and 11 year old riding a Class 2, two person bike legally or the judgement of their parents for allowing such minors to do so, reply regardless of the law ...
They were riding the bike safely according to Police. Why is this about e-bikes when an SUV driver went on the sidewalk and killed a 4 year-old?
Thanks for noting, "SUV driver."
The paper version indicates "sedan driver."
It's an important distinction as crashes with SUVs tend to be result in more fatalities due to "the high point of the front profile, or 'leading edge,' of most new SUVs is still considerably higher than that of the average car."
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/new-study-suggests-todays-suvs-are-more-lethal-to-pedestrians-than-cars
Let's remember that Burlingame is one of those "Share The Road" cities that doesn't promote bike lanes for children and doesn't have a Safe-Routes-To-School project.
To ride with traffic (like Donna Colson wants them to do) they better be able to ride 25-35 mph. Going slower makes it more dangerous in areas where these "Share-The-Road" politicians reign.
EBikes help children and seniors to level the playing field and ride with traffic. Basically the city is forcing parents to buy Pedelecs.
Since there are also no bike lanes but on-street parking on that very narrow street, the parents of all these kids should sue the city for total negligence.
The Police report says the bike was using the road appropriately. If we're going to fix these problems, blaming the ebike in this instance is a sideshow. You may not like ebikes, but according to the BPD, this one was using the road as it was supposed to. The City of Burlingame needs to conduct a full investigation and document all of the factors (road design, human behavior) that led to this outcome. Solutions need to be comprehensive including street design + evaluating the speed limits.
I think most people naturally sympathize with the driver because most adults (outside of major cities) are drivers. It's terrifying to consider the possibility that you too could kill a 4 year old because of a split second of distraction or not looking carefully enough when pulling out of a driveway. It's more reassuring to worry about the scourge of "dangerous" ebikes and question the responsibility of the parents who let their kids ride them than consider the safety risks of driving a ~3,500 pound Mazda CX-5.
The Merc reported that the Class 2 ebike the kids were riding was speed limited at 20 mph, which is slower than the speed limit in downtown Burlingame. The kids walked away without injuries, which means they couldn't have hit the SUV very hard.
The SUV, on the other hand, killed a 4 year old, injured a 6 year old and destroyed the front of a business. Which of these vehicles is more dangerous? Which is more likely to result in deadly outcomes when their operator engages in "bad behavior"?
FYI: In Wales, from Road Safety Wales:
"To ride an e-bike, a person must be at least 14 years old. However, you do not need a driving licence and an e-bike does not need to be registered, taxed or insured."
https://www.roadsafetywales.org.uk/news/posts/2023/august/know-the-difference-between-an-e-bike-and-an-electric-motorcycle/
And to drive a monster SUV you need to be at least 17, unlike here where it is 15.
Don't forget the SUV driver killed the 4 year-old (and the kids riding bikes).
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