'SLOW-DOWN' RALLY PLANNED 12-YEAR-OLD BOY STRUCK IN CROSSWALK LAST MONTH CLINGS TO LIFE IN HOSPITAL.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

CHATSWORTH LAKE MANOR - Twelve-year-old Brandon Martin had just finished selling mistletoe to raise money to buy Christmas presents when he was struck from his scooter by a hit-and-run driver.

The Dec. 19 crash broke Brandon's leg, fractured his skull and plunged him into a three-week coma and fight for his life.

It also galvanized the unincorporated community of Chatsworth Lake Manor to renew a decade-long battle to deter the commuters speeding through their village. Beginning Monday, residents plan ``slow-down'' demonstrations until something is done on Lake Manor Drive.

``We've been fighting 10 years to get a stop sign there in order to slow speeders down,'' said Lake Manor resident Sarah Watkins-Houser, 29, Brandon's aunt.

``If we had a stop sign, he wouldn't have been hit,'' she said. ``The driver and (the county) are to blame - they're both responsible, one for being careless, one for neglect.''

Brandon was hit by a car at 5:50 p.m. as he pushed his scooter across a crosswalk, at Lake Manor Drive and Thompson Road, on his way to pick up some cornflakes from the corner store for an evening tuna casserole, according to a spokesman from Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich's office and Lake Manor residents.

The boy was struck in the leg, then thrown over the car's hood before the driver slammed on the brakes, sending Brandon crashing to the pavement.

The California Highway Patrol is searching for the driver of an older model, dark-color Honda that may have square headlights. Anyone with information on this crash is asked to call [phone].

Antonovich has put up a $10,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the hit-and-run motorist. Neighbors have kicked in nearly $4,000 more.

In response to neighborhood criticism, the supervisor last week proposed a stop sign and warning light near the crosswalk where Brandon was hit. The proposal will be considered Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.

Antonovich has also directed the county Department of Public Works to repaint the crosswalk this week, install a flashing ``smart'' crosswalk to warn drivers of passing pedestrians and to work with Southern California Edison to install a streetlight for better visibility.

``The supervisor is very concerned about safety in this area,'' said Antonovich spokesman Tony Bell. ``This tragic accident was unfortunate. He's hoping these improvements will improve public safety and prevent any future tragedies.''

But what rankles residents of the roughly 1,000 homes in an enclave straddling Los Angeles and Ventura counties is the number of petitions submitted to the county to slow the rush of West Valley commuters.

Neighbors had demanded action in 1996, and the county eventually responded - not with a stop sign or signal but with an increase in the speed limit, from 30 mph to 35 mph.

Since then, residents say, traffic incidents have increased along their 1 1/2-block segment of Lake Manor Drive, the twisty, two-lane thoroughfare sandwiched between segments of Valley Circle Boulevard from Chatsworth to Woodland Hills.

``I can hear the crashes from my residence. It's very dangerous,'' said the Rev. Summer Nicholson of Lake Manor. ``Basically (the county's) response was, you don't qualify for speed bumps or stop signs. We just got rhetoric.''

Brandon Martin, a student at Hale Elementary, is known even beyond his tight-knit neighborhood for his bright-eyed enthusiasm and entrepreneurial zeal.

A born tinkerer described as ``the butterfly of the neighborhood,'' Brandon had built his own motor scooter, hatched baby chicks and once tearfully appealed to a local church congregation to pray for his dead dog.

At the time he was hit, the boy was grieving over the recent loss of his grandmother and one-time guardian.

Brandon now lies in critical condition at UCLA Medical Center, largely unable to talk, with possible brain stem injuries, according to his mother. After days of not speaking, on Wednesday he blurted out, ``I want my mama, I want my mama,'' before slipping back into his coma.

In the 13 days after the crash, his medical bill amounted to $255,130, including $30,000 for medications.

``Faith is basically all we have to hang on to at this point,'' said Kathleen Brandon, 41, of Lake Manor.

``He was the light of my life, he was my only son, he was my world; if he doesn't make it, I don't know how I'm going to make it,'' she said. ``I just pray that this doesn't happen to some other kid.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

A fund has been established to help pay medical costs for Brandon Martin. Checks made out to Kathleen Martin as custodian for Brandon Martin can be sent to Downey Savings, 16940 Devonshire St., Granada Hills 91344.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

no caption (Brandon Martin)

Box:

no caption (Fund)