[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]t’s been two weeks since the fatal death of an 18-month-old boy from North Hills who was struck and killed after two cars collided on the corner of Nordhoff Street and Langdon Avenue.
The accident happened in the early morning of October 17, where Ana Morales, the mother of Sebastian Chavez Morales, said their Sunday started like any other day. She changed Sebastian, played with him a little, and then buckled him in his stroller and said bye to him before heading to work. “I keep going back to when I said bye to him, and I didn’t know that would be the last time I would see his beautiful smile,” she said.
Morales, who works at a Central American store less than a mile away from where the incident occurred, said she watched her son leave with his abuelo and her neighbor, who often helps Sebastian’s grandparents make tamales to sell on Sundays. His grandparents have been selling tamales on Nordhoff and Langdon for over ten years so going to their stand was nothing new. “Ever since I went back to work after Sebastian was born, my parents and my sisters have always been the ones to help me take care of him,” she said over the phone. “They loved him, and he loved being with them at their stand.”
But at around 7:35 AM, as Morales settled into her shift, the fatal hit and run happened. A silver 2016 Honda HRV that was attempting to make a left turn sideswiped an approaching grey sedan. According to LAPD, the Honda changed its direction due to the impact and drove onto the sidewalk, pinning the 18-month-old who was still in his stroller to a brick planter. Another pedestrian was also struck but was treated and released the same day. The driver of the grey sedan is said to have fled the scene without stopping to offer help. Meanwhile, Morales, who was still at work, noticed she had missed a call from her brother before the phone at the store rang.
“I saw the ambulance, the stroller crushed, man I couldn’t believe it, I kept saying, ‘No, this isn't happening, and I was praying for the best.”