Crime & Safety
Waiting and Praying: A Community Responds to Monday's Crash
How has this week's car accident, which left 18-year-old Tyler De Martini in critical condition, affected you and your family? Please weigh in. Click the "Keep me posted" button below this story for updates.
As waited for news Tuesday about the condition of a young Berkeley skateboarder just over the Albany border, others set up a small shrine in his honor.
On the southeast corner of Marin and Tulare avenues, two candles, some pink roses, and handwritten signs marked the intersection where by a car just after 7 p.m. Monday as he skateboarded down the street.
"Please slow down," urged one sign, written in black marker on a neat rectangle of cardboard. On another, in large letters surrounding a red heart: "We love Tyler."
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As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, both candles had blown out in the wind. A piece of yellow caution tape still fluttered from a fence across from the makeshift shrine.
Small bits of what appeared to be glass from the collision still littered the pitch-black intersection.
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And many commenters on Patch, as well as on local email lists, took time to share their thoughts.
A common theme throughout was that of , his family and the driver involved in the crash.
But community members also shared concerns about steps both parents and authorities could take to avoid similar accidents in the future.
Some spoke of the need for for skateboarders and cyclists.
Others asked for with a reputation for speeding drivers.
Just blocks away, in 2007, longtime Albany activist Ruth Meniketti was killed by a drunk driver at Talbot and Marin avenues as she crossed the street near her home.
The 2007 crash came just days after a nearby traffic-related fatality in Berkeley, at Solano Avenue and Fresno Street, which killed an 82-year-old woman.
Should steps be taken to ensure safer travel in Albany and its environs? Has Monday's accident sparked conversation in your home? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Click the "Keep me posted" button below for updates on this story, and others involving traffic safety.
If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email at albany@patch.com.
