Barrio Logan residents demand safety above Chicano Park

A family member of two victims of a drunk driver whose vehicle flew off the Coronado Bridge and into Chicano Park on Saturday broke the silence from the families of those involved before assembled media at the park on Thursday afternoon (October 20).

"It's been traumatic for all of us," said Jacob Contreras, nephew to Cruz and Annamarie Contreras of Chandler, Arizona. The couple was killed along with Andre Banks and Francine Jimenez when Richard Anthony Sepolio, who had reportedly been drinking and was driving aggressively, lost control of his pickup while on the bridge.

"My uncle spent almost two decades serving children in Arizona, working with teens who bounced in and out of a system with nowhere to go," Contreras continued. His aunt and uncle had recently retired after spending the past 25 years hosting foster children. "As you can imagine with a guidance counselor and a special-needs teacher's aide they weren't rich monetarily, but they were rich with love."

Contreras noted that Thursday would have been Annamarie's 51st birthday.

"We went earlier this morning to buy birthday balloons for my aunt. Normally this would be in celebration, planning for a party, but not today."

While relatives and members of the community continued to mourn, others demanded safety measures from Caltrans, which manages the bridge.

"Caltrans knows there's a problem. We've told them, but nothing has ever been done," said Tommie Camarillo, a longtime member of the Chicano Park Steering Committee. "They need to do something so that if there's an accident up there it doesn't end up down here."

There have been other accidents in recent years, though none until now have resulted in fatalities. Community members have said a motorcycle, car tires, and other dangerous debris has fallen into the park in recent years. Each incident has led to a call for taller containment walls along the bridge or other safety measures, which Barrio Logan residents say has fallen on deaf ears.

"This is a park, with kids and families here all the time," continued Camarillo. "We have a problem that needs to be addressed immediately."