Memorial Calls for Safety: Friends Honor Boys Struck By Car
By Stanley B. Chambers Jr., The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.
Apr. 13–RALEIGH — Slowly they came, some with flowers, others holding the hands of their children.
About 50 people gathered around a makeshift memorial Saturday morning at the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Spring Forest roads, where Basil Shahin, 7, and his brother, Kaled, 9, were killed April 2. The two boys had moved ahead of their mother and against the light and were struck by a Toyota 4-Runner. The driver was not charged in the incident.
Most of the children who attended the memorial were classmates of the two boys at North Ridge Elementary School. They, along with the adults, stood behind the memorial decorated with sunflowers, roses and carnations, under a sign for the Fresh Market.
One at a time, about half the crowd embraced the boys’ parents, Ahmad Shahin and Wafa Tamimi, once they arrived. They, along with nine others, walked from their nearby neighborhood and crossed the intersection where their sons were killed.
Matt Tanner, a neighbor, spoke for the family. He called on the city to ensure that all traffic signals allow enough time for pedestrians to cross. Two extra seconds would not affect traffic flow, said Tanner, who added that people in the neighborhood will ask the city to evaluate the intersection for walker safety.
“This is about everyone who has lost children in this fashion,” he said.
The family, along with the rest of the crowd, then made its way to the intersection. When the light changed, eight of them started to cross the street. Six seconds later, a warning prompt started flashing. They weren’t even halfway across by then.
Eventually, they all made their way to the northeast corner of the intersection, where they stood for about an hour. Meanwhile, school-age girls and a parent knelt in front of the memorial and prayed for the two boys. The girls had attended classes with the younger boy, Basil.
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