German Alex Romero

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German Alex Romero
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Age: 17

Location:
De Soto Ave. near Valerio St
San Fernando Valley
Los Angeles , CA
United States

Alex was killed in a hit-and-run crash in April while riding his bike with his
best friend.

From LA Weekly

A boy formerly listed as a varsity soccer player at El Camino Real
High School in the Valley was killed last night by a hit-and-run Toyota
Corolla, reports City News Service.

German Alex Romero and a friend, both 17, were riding their bicycles
in the suburban Valley community of Canoga Park at around 9 p.m. --
heading north on a whizzing, six-lane De Soto Avenue toward Valerio Street -- when a Corolla hatchback described as gray with passenger-side damage rammed into Romero from behind.

The driver reportedly sped off without stopping to help or see if
Romero was OK, leaving the other 17-year-old -- who was not injured, as
he'd been riding in the far-right lane -- alone to handle the tragic
accident.

Police declared Romero dead at the scene.

german187188_100000467985794_8045536_n.jpg

Facebook

Romero's profile picture

​Max Prep lists the victim as a varsity player and top scorer on El Camino Real High men's soccer for the 2010-11 season, during which the team had a stellar 8-0-2 league record and 18-2-5 record overall.

However, he may have recently transferred: City News identifies Romero as a current senior at Chatsworth High, also located in the San Fernando Valley.

LAPD investigators are currently searching for the hit-and-run
driver. Anyone with additional informational about the crime is urged to
call Valley traffic cops at (818) 644-8034 or (818) 644-8032.

 

From ABC 7 News

By Darsha Philips and Jovana Lara

CANOGA PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) --
A hit-and-run driver is on the loose after killing a 17-year-old boy in Canoga Park.

"They should have stayed and called for help," said German
Romero, the victim's father. He can't understand why the driver who
took Alex Romero's life didn't stop to help.

"It's very difficult. Everybody loves him. He was such a good boy," said German Romero.

The Chatsworth High School senior was riding his bicycle along De Soto
Avenue near Valerio Street at about 9 p.m. Wednesday with his best
friend, Peter Arias. Someone driving a silver or gray Toyota Corolla or
Camry hatchback sped up behind Alex Romero and hit him.

"I saw
the car coming fast, and then I saw it before and then all I saw was
after when he was gone, I saw my friend right there laying down. And I
heard the impact," said Arias.

"What I heard was that there was a
van and the car tried to pass the van on the right side, and that's
when the car got my son," said German.

A sidewalk memorial of
flowers and candles now sits near the site of the accident as friends
and acquaintances, shocked by the death, gather to remember him.

"This is just a sad thing, a sad thing," said Ivan Alzate, Alex Romero's childhood soccer coach.

Alzate says Romero played club soccer and was well-known and liked in
the community. He had a bright future, with dreams to someday become a
chef.

"He was a happy kid and always smiling. You can even see
him in that picture right there that his smile is this big, and we
always used to just joke around, even when things were serious or sad,
he'd have that smile on his face, because that was just part of him,"
said Alzate.

Amid the sadness, there are calls for the person
responsible to come forward and for city leaders to do something about
De Soto Avenue, a street residents say is a death trap.

"It's awful, from Sherman Way to Saticoy Street, De Soto is a racetrack," said Canoga Park resident Laurie Sagon.

"They just left him and I think that was pretty mean. I think they
should turn themselves in," said Alani, the victim's sister.

Anyone with information was urged to call the Los Angeles Police Department at (877) LAPD-24-7.

(Copyright ©2011 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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