SLOW DOWN FOR KATIE; CAR CLUB RAISES $200 FOR FAMILY.Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer Dennis Rodriguez never met Katie Rauda. He never had a chance to: The 6-year-old West Toluca Lake girl was killed by a car in the street in front of her home July 30. But when Rodriguez heard people were collecting money to help Katie's family pay burial costs, he knew he had to help. A lowrider low·rid·er or low-rid·er or low rider n. Chiefly Southwestern U.S. 1. A customized car whose springs have been shortened so that the chassis rides close to the ground, often equipped with hydraulic lifts that can be enthusiast, Rodriguez gathered up his fellow car buffs in the Just For Looks car club to hold a car wash Sunday in Van Nuys to raise funds for the family. Fewer than a dozen cars stopped by, but they managed to raise about $200, including funds Rodriguez collected from co-workers at the home remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling company where he works as a salesman. ``Even if it's only 200 bucks, that's 200 bucks that goes toward something positive,'' Rodriguez said. ``That's what we're all about.'' After the car wash, the group cruised out in a lowrider convoy to personally deliver the cash to the Rauda family. Today, a makeshift altar stands along the fence in Verb 1. fence in - enclose with a fence; "we fenced in our yard" fence inclose, shut in, close in, enclose - surround completely; "Darkness enclosed him"; "They closed in the porch with a fence" 2. the 10800 block of Camarillo Street where the 6-year-old was killed. She was struck by a car after apparently darting into traffic when her mother became distracted and bent to pick up a bag near the family's parked car, police said. The driver, a Burbank woman, was not cited or arrested. Katie died the following day of head trauma at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Neighbors have complained about cars speeding down the street, and a handwritten hand·write tr.v. hand·wrote , hand·writ·ten , hand·writ·ing, hand·writes To write by hand. [Back-formation from handwritten.] Adj. 1. sign now cautions drivers to ``Please slow down for Katie.'' Some slow down to gawk at the tribute, while others zoom by, ignoring the sign. Flowers, candles and drawings from Katie's friends and classmates Classmates can refer to either:
``Katie, you will forever be in my heart and mind. I will miss seeing you and talking to you. You made our lives happy. Love, Sean,'' reads one child's tribute. When the lowriders pulled up to the site, each slowed down and hopped up hopped up Drug slang A popular phrase for being influenced by drugs and down on their hydraulic wheels - their own unique form of tribute. They then walked up to the handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft tribute and gazed silently, thinking about the lost life of a girl they never knew. The Rauda family wasn't home when they arrived, so they left the money with a neighbor, who promised to deliver it. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Dennis Rodriguez washes a car during a benefit he planned for the Rauda family, whose 6-year-old daughter, Katie, was hit by a car. (2) Members of the Just for Looks club ruminate ru·mi·nate v. ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing, ru·mi·nates v.intr. 1. To turn a matter over and over in the mind. 2. To chew cud. v.tr. on a memorial near the little girl's home. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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