Street sign bearing memorial for Henderson crash victim knocked over
A driver on Saturday night knocked down a street sign bearing a memorial for a 13-year-old boy who was struck and killed by an alleged reckless driver in March.
Rex Patchett died in early March when he was hit by an out-of-control car while walking on a sidewalk near Mannion Middle School in Henderson.
The driver in that crash, 21-year-old Jose Marmolejo, has been booked on a count of reckless driving causing death and one count of child abuse resulting in significant bodily harm, according to Henderson police.
The street sign, which was also bearing a memorial sign for Rex, was apparently knocked over Saturday night in the same area as the original crash but neighbors discovered the damage Sunday morning.
James Patchett, the boy’s father, said he initially thought that some kids had knocked the sign down. But he said he knew that it was a car when he went to the scene and saw the sign with tire marks on the ground nearby.
“It pours salt in the wound when basically the same thing that happened to my son happened again,” said James Patchett said of the recent crash.
The crashes have raised concern among Mannion Middle School parents.
“I think that’s quite frightening because of how many kids are here every day,” said Angela Cooper, whose children attend the school.
Speeding is a regular issue in the area, according to parents.
Cooper called speeding in the area a “chronic problem.”
The car that struck Rex Patchett was reportedly speeding around 90 mph before losing control and striking the boy, according to Henderson police.
Sheryl Boynton, a crossing guard stationed at the roundabout between Mannion and a nearby elementary school, said that she sees people speeding every day. Steve Doyer, another crossing guard in the same intersection, said that he sees speeding once or twice a day, but noted the speeding is “worse than normal maybe once or twice a week.”
Jerry Jaramillo, another parent who lives in the area, called for action to reduce speeding in the neighborhood.
“I think they should put a stoplight here or something,” said Jaramillo. “Even a roundabout, whatever will actually make people slow down.”
James Patchett also is pushing for action to reduce crashes in the area and was critical of what’s been done so far.
“I don’t know why it’s been a problem,” he said, “but it’s been a problem for years, and nobody’s doing anything about it.”
He is calling for residents in the community to send letters to the judge in Marmolejo’s case.
Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCredicoII.
