Shame on DA Stephen Wagstaffe

Jan 16, 2026
Jan 16, 2026
6

Editor,

Shame on District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe for his decision not to prosecute the driver who killed 4-year-old Ayden Fang on a downtown Burlingame sidewalk and injured three other children, one on foot and two on bike.

(6) comments

Thomas Morgan Jan 16, 2026 5:50am

While a horrible incident I am not sure you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the driver knew the victim and intended to murder. I am sure the DA spoke to the family and asked them what they were wanting.

joebob91 Jan 16, 2026 9:39am

Vehicular manslaughter is charged for negligent driving. There doesn't need to be intent. The DA didn't say the charges weren't merited. They said that they couldn't convince 12 jurors. It is nearly impossible to convince a jury of 12 drivers to convict anything except the most heinous offenses.

Per the SMDJ article, Ayden's family criticized the DA's decision: “We, the family, do not agree with this decision,” Fang said. “If that’s the way [the justice system] is set up, that the DA can make that call without the jury making that call, I think that’s a premature decision [and] unfair for the victim.”

Seema Jan 16, 2026 9:45am

From yesterday's Daily Journal article:

Ayden’s father, Ming Fang, said the family did not agree with the decision, which Baum said was made because the DA’s Office did not believe it could convince all 12 members of a jury that criminal negligence occurred.

“We, the family, do not agree with this decision,” Fang said. “If that’s the way [the justice system] is set up, that the DA can make that call without the jury making that call, I think that’s a premature decision [and] unfair for the victim.”

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/no-charges-filed-in-the-crash-that-killed-burlingame-boy/article_89c9d6e6-36f7-4adb-9402-bd1723fbca93.html

I don't think there's been any discussion of a murder charge. Yesterday's article mentions vehicular manslaughter, which is defined as the unlawful killing of someone while driving with ordinary negligence, an unlawful act (not a felony), or gross negligence, without malice aforethought.

https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/penal-code/192c/

Dirk van Ulden Jan 16, 2026 10:02am

Thomas - the DA may have spoken with the family but they are reportedly very upset with his decision. As far as we know the driver did not even get a slap on the wrist and the DA left it up to the DMV to take action, if any, on her driving privileges. Remember this when he comes up for reelection.

Thomas Morgan Jan 16, 2026 1:58pm

I clearly missed yesterday's article. The family appear to be upset with all parties involved.

easygerd Jan 16, 2026 10:01am

As always "Soft-on-crime" when it comes to vehicular manslaughter cases or as they say:

"If you want to get away with murder, use a car."

What people want to hear in these cases - where a driver ends up in a restaurant (Burlingame), or swimming pool (San Mateo), or ACE Hardware (Redwood City) - is the assurance that these people were put through a rigorous medical exam, a full mental evaluation, and several theoretical and practical driving tests before they get their driver's license back in ca. 3-5 years.

But as CalMatters found out people like our DA here don't even follow up with Sacramento or the DMV and these killers are allowed to kill again and again.

https://calmatters.org/series/license-to-kill/

Or as Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said: "People need to stop using their vehicles as weapons."

Of course, she should have said, "We need to stop allowing people to use their vehicles as weapons. We need better traffic engineers and city council members who care."

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