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Burlingame businesses unite to help community heal after 4 year old's death
Preston’s Candy & Ice Cream and Caccia Home Services teamed up to offer free ice cream and a space for healing after the tragic death of 4-year-old Ayden Fang in Burlingame.
BURLINGAME, Calif. - Days before the start of the new school year, the Burlingame community came together to support one another after the heartbreaking death of a young child.
Four-year-old Ayden Fang was killed earlier this month when a car accelerated onto the sidewalk outside the Truffle Poke Bar restaurant near Burlingame Avenue. A 6-year-old girl was also injured in the incident but is expected to recover.
Police said the crash on Aug. 8 occurred when a 19-year-old woman exiting a parking lot was struck by an e-bike, before it accelerated onto the sidewalk. A memorial still stands outside the restaurant, where neighbors continue to grieve.
Scoops and solidarity
Longtime neighborhood fixture Preston's Candy and Ice Cream partnered with Caccia Home Services over the weekend to hand out free ice cream to kids and adults alike, in a show of support and solidarity.
"We are a very small community, everybody talked to each other about what happened, what we can do to keep the community together, to be strong," said Javier Santiago, owner of Preston’s Candy and Ice Cream.
"My daughter's here, I have three kids, we walk that same street where that happened frequently," said Geno Caccia, owner of Caccia Home Services. "There's so many things you can do, but we just want to be out here. Community comes together when there's great things happening, community comes together when there's something like that happens. Just want to put some smiles on some faces."
Preston’s saw more than 500 people come through its doors on Sunday alone - five times the usual number. For many, the experience was emotional.
"First thing I thought of how easily that could have been us. That's us all the time dining on the avenue or running around the neighborhood," said Alex Whitworth, a Burlingame resident.
The tragedy has prompted some parents to become more cautious as their children return to school and navigate the same streets.
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Community mourns death of 4-year-old boy killed in Burlingame pedestrian crash
A growing memorial lines the sidewalk outside a Burlingame restaurant where a 4-year-old boy was killed and a 6-year-old girl injured in a crash Friday evening. The collision happened around 6:30 p.m. outside Truffle Poke Bar at 1212 Donnelly Ave. Police identified the driver as a 19-year-old woman from San Mateo. Investigators said she was pulling out of a parking lot across the street when an e-bike collided with the car. The teen driver then accelerated onto the sidewalk, striking the two children before crashing into the restaurant.
"My heart is really broken. I can’t imagine. We have an 11-year-old and almost 6-year-old," said Ashita Magal. "Like he went biking today and I was not happy about it."
San Bruno resident Dale Suenaga said the gesture resonated on a personal level.
"I wanted to see what establishment was giving back to the community because what happened to this family, I was just devastated," Suenaga said. "I have a deep root with children, because I'm an educator of 40 years."
As students prepare to return to the classroom, the mood in Burlingame remains somber.
"Ice cream is a good way to send sweet memories or sweet things to the child," Suenaga added.
The Truffle Poke Bar remains closed. A sign in the window says the restaurant’s reopening efforts will focus on honoring those impacted and standing with the community during this difficult time.