Mourning families warn of car surfing danger

Posted at: 10/19/2009 6:25 PM | Updated at: 10/19/2009 8:20 PM
By: Jeremy Jojola, Eyewitness News 4; Matthew Kappus, KOB.com

The family of a teen killed attempting a car stunt remembered the girl Monday and gave a dire warning to people thinking about car surfing.

A rosary was held for 15-year-old Erin Gonzales Monday night. Gonzales died when she fell off the hood of a moving car last week in her neighborhood near Tramway Blvd. and Lomas Blvd. NE.

Monday, Matthew Valerio-Hirschfeld sat down with us as a representative of the family of the teen who was driving the day Gonzales died. He says the girl is overwhelmed with guilt and grief and has become the target of ridicule from friends.

"It's the sense that she had some evil intent, or she's some idiot. And that's just not the case," he said. "These were two dear friends that truly loved each other."

Gonzales' and the driver's family are dealing with the terrible loss too many other families across the county have experienced. According to a federal study, nearly 60 people have been killed as a result of car surfing between 1990 and 2008—most of whom are about 16 years old.

On the Internet, there are countless videos of teens riding on the top of cars as the vehicles drive down the street.

Valerio-Hirschfeld says the mother of the driver wants to warn kids that car surfing is dangerous. In the meantime, a fundraiser for the Gonzales family has been set up at Bank of the West.

Print Story