Three memorials were vandalized along Broadway and Country Club Lane. NBC 7 San Diego spoke with two families who are devastated and heartbroken that someone would do this to their loved one’s memorial.
Norma Tapia and her husband visit their son’s memorial about every three days.
It’s filled with baseballs, flowers, a cross, and items that keep their son’s spirit alive.
“My son’s spirit left here. It was his last breath,” Tapia said.
Their 13-year-old son, Rodrigo Tapia Jr., better known as “Junior”, was killed last April when the driver of the car he was travelling in ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle.
Police later determined that driver, Alexander Tito Oroz, was driving under the influence.
When Norma and her husband visited their son’s memorial today, they were devastated to find it had been vandalized.
“They took out all his flowers, his cross. That cross means a lot… Our friend made it from that dance floor, he danced on that night so it means a lot for us and they took it down. They dropped everything. Everything was vandalized, the lights were thrown, his picture was bent, they also broke another light that we had,” Tapia said.
Junior’s memorial was not the only one damaged by vandals.
“Her cross that I had lit up was really bent over, like they purposely tried to bend it. Her vases, I had two of them on each side, four total, taken out, and you can see the little light they just pulled it apart and they threw it. The flowers were everywhere,” Ruby Espino said.
This December will mark five years since her mother, 42-year-old Veronica Espino was also killed at this same intersection.
That crash was also caused by an intoxicated driver.
“It’s very disheartening and it’s very disappointing to hear that somebody just deliberately went out of their way, for whatever reason, just to destroy a memorial that was meant for someone who tragically passed away specifically at this site,” Espino said.
Both Espino and Tapia came to clean the mess left behind by the vandals.
They hope it doesn’t happen again.
Tapia said they will try to install cameras in the area to avoid it happening again.