DUI death shows need for role models, safe bike paths

On July 27, a 7-year-old Fresno boy died when a drunk driver hit him as he was riding his bike with his sister and dad. The driver was high school coach Loren LeBeau.

As high schoolers, bikers, student athletes, siblings, and victims of road violence, this tragedy resonated with us. It made us wonder who we can trust, if not our authority figures. Coaches and teachers are supposed to be role models. This story only makes us trust authority figures less, and makes us wonder how common drunken driving is among adults who lead us.

Others in our group feel that everyone makes mistakes, even authority figures, and sometimes these mistakes hurt other innocent people, like what happened on July 27. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes, but this doesn’t excuse these actions or make them any less tragic.

Most of us live in West Fresno, and this situation reminded us that safe biking and walking areas aren’t just needed here in our neighborhoods, where we often lack sidewalks or street lighting, but also in North Fresno areas as well. Some of us have been assaulted, and we’ve seen our friends get hit or injured by cars. Our city needs safe biking and walking paths. Sometimes, as we saw on July 27th, it’s a matter of life and death.

About the Author

Richard Moua

Richard joined The kNOw Youth Media in 2012. He joined during his senior year at Edison High School. While working with The kNOw, he produced a series of pieces covering DUI awareness and prevention of drinking and driving. He now attends California State University, Fresno.