Burlingame community mourns loss of 4-year-old killed crash, pushes for pedestrian safety
The Burlingame community is coming together to remember 4-year-old Ayden Fang. Sunday, more than a hundred people gathered for a vigil and to support his family.
His uncle, Michael Deng, expressed how grateful he was for everyone during this unimaginable time.
"It has felt like a safety net," said Deng. "To prevent us from sinking."
Deng spoke next to a photo of Ayden, one of the last ever taken of him.
Ayden's proud and holding up a sheet of books he read for a library challenge, but the photo also represents just how much of his life was unfinished.
"Painfully," Deng stated. "This would be his first and last sheet, as he never got the chance to turn it in. The fact that's he's gone still feels surreal."
Ayden was killed on Aug. 8 when a car exiting a parking lot on Donnelly Avenue was hit by an e-bike. The car accelerated across the street, onto the sidewalk and into Truffle Poke Bar, where Ayden was standing outside of the restaurant and was hit by the car.
In his short life, he touched many lives, including his teacher's Amna Rehamne.
"He was an amazing student," Rehamne said, explaining that Ayden had joined her 3-year-old class at only 2 and a half. "A teacher's dream. He was excited about learning, followed directions, and enjoyed practicing newly learned skills. As we try to make sense of this devastating tragedy, I'm grateful that I was his teacher."
Ayden's father, Ming Fang, was also visibly emotional when he spoke, saying he was shocked, angry and sometimes still in denial about what happened.
He recounted a story that happened just two days before Ayden's death, he built a tower out of Legos, asked for a photo, and to put it on the mantle.
"It was only a week later that we were cleaning the family room and noticed his tower sitting on the family room mantle, looking like a monument," explained Fang. "As we paid closer attention, we saw a couple of the blocks holding a simple and powerful message: protect our city. It gave us chills."
And it also gives him purpose.
"We'd like to unite the community and improve pedestrian safety here in California," said Fang, of what he will do going forward. "That's for Ayden's brother. That's for Ayden's Friends. That's for Ayden's city."
Truffle Poke Bar will reopen on Wednesday with a fundraiser for Ayden; proceeds will go to pedestrian safety initiatives in Burlingame.
Deng's closing message was to carry on Ayden's legacy by living like Ayden did.
"His love was pure, and he gave it freely," said Deng. "A good reminder for us all to do the same."