The mother of 15-year-old Mohammad Basamah, who died after being struck by a vehicle in June, has started a petition campaign to address the issue of speeding on Sunset Boulevard.
Amira Goli, Mohammad’s mother, told the Palisadian-Post the aim of the campaign is to bring further attention to speeding and safety issues on Sunset.
Basamah, a Palisades High sophomore who lived in Brentwood, was struck by a four-door sedan heading eastbound as he tried crossing Sunset at the Hartzell Street intersection on June 13. There is no crosswalk at that juncture.
After three hard-fought days, the teenager died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Part of Goli’s petition statement, which can be found on petitition.moveon.org, states that: “We the residents of Sunset Blvd. object to the speed limits on Sunset, as no one goes by the speed limits [35 mph]. In fact, it feels like we are living on a highway. We have lost many lives on Sunset between two major schools. Two innocent souls: Julia [Siegler, a 13-year-old Harvard-Westlake student] and Basamah. Please help us make our community a safer place to live for all our children and our loved ones’ sakes.”
LAPD West Traffic Division Detective Zach Hutchings previously told the Post neither speed nor alcohol were factors in Basamah’s death. The driver was licensed and her vehicle had proper registration, said Hutchings, adding that the investigation determined the pedestrian was at fault. The driver of the vehicle was questioned and released.
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