Police believe woman who struck Brayan Trejo was not on cell
phone, await records; neighbors disagree
By Rachelle Gines Staff Writer
Gilroy – Police said Thursday they do not believe the woman driving the truck that struck and killed 5-year-old Brayan Trejo was on the phone the moment the accident occurred, though witnesses close to the Trejo family disagree.
“I don’t believe it’s the case she was on her cell phone at the time of the accident, but we are waiting for a statement from the Verizon phone company to confirm that,” Gilroy police Detective Frank Bozzo said. He added the initial investigation is complete and has been forwarded to accident specialists for further review.
Maria Aguilar said she saw the entire accident and gave a statement that is in the official police report. The 19-year-old Gavilan student is close to the Trejo family, and said she doesn’t know why the police said Franco was probably not on the phone.
“I saw the whole thing and I told the police she was on her cell phone the whole time,” Aguilar said Thursday afternoon from the kitchen table of the Trejo family’s one-story home just off Church Street.
Brayan Trejo was riding his scooter alongside his 13-year-old brother Jesus Trejo in the crosswalk of Church and 10th streets on the afternoon of June 27, when Gilroy resident Robertina Franco, 49, struck the child with her silver Dodge Ram pickup. Police said she was cooperative and released at the scene. Jesus Trejo was not hurt.
Aguilar said she was cleaning windows in her bottom-floor apartment on the corner of 10th and Church streets when she saw the accident unfold. She said she leapt through the window and rushed to Brayan Trejo’s side. She then said she went to confront Franco, who she said stayed in her truck.
“Another person opened her car door, and then I told her in Spanish, ‘Get out. You just hit a little kid,'” Aguilar said. “She got out of the car with a cell phone in her right hand, and a receipt in her left one.”
Bozzo said that Franco was still in the truck when she called her daughter on a cell phone immediately after the accident for help.
As for Aguilar’s assertion that the police report is wrong, Bozzo said he would not comment further.
Franco’s daughter, Rosio, said that her mom is distraught after the accident.
“My mother is not emotionally ready to talk about the accident,” Rosio Franco said. “She’s going through a lot and has a lot to deal with.”
Franco said people trading stories about the accident makes her mother’s situation even more difficult.
“At times like this, it doesn’t help to hear the different versions of the accident that are being told in the community about how the accident occurred,” Franco said. “The versions being told are not factual, and affect not only my mother, but can also be very misleading to the Trejo family.”
It is not against the law to use a cell phone while driving, Bozzo said. He said he also does not believe, in his opinion, that Franco was negligent in her actions.
“The cell phone is not of real significance from a criminal aspect. I don’t believe it’s negligence, but the District Attorney’s office will have the final say,” Bozzo said.
Bozzo further explained that causing a traffic accident does not always fit into the category of negligence.
“It was a minor traffic infraction that resulted in a tragedy. That’s why it’s an accident,” Bozzo said. “It’s a mistake, and all drivers make mistakes. Everyone has sped, ran a stop sign or red light.”
The boy’s father, Jesus Trejo Mendoza Sr., returned from the police department at 1:30pm Thursday with the accident report. He looked at the thick file in his hands, then at his wife Blanca Trejo and said he disagreed with police.
“I believe the witnesses. I don’t believe the police because they weren’t there,” Trejo said in Spanish as Aguilar nodded her head in agreement.
Meanwhile, the witness nearest the accident, Jesus Trejo Jr., Brayan’s 13-year-old brother, is doing a little better, his father said.
“He is still traumatized though,” Trejo Mendoza said.
Bozzo said a team at the police department specializing in accident reconstruction and investigation is reviewing the case. The Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) will forward the case to the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office once completed.
Frank Carrubba, Supervising District Attorney, said each case is different and that he has not yet seen Trejo’s accident report.
“Until I see the facts of this particular case, it is impossible for me to make any statements of criminality,” Currubba said.
An account is set up to help the family with funeral expenses. Donate to Wells Fargo, account no. 8616703883.
Rachelle Gines is an intern attending San Francisco State University. Reach her at 847-7158 or rg****@************ch.com
