Ryan Carter
BURBANK -- Last week was Alec Gonzalez's second birthday. His family
came to visit him with a cake, balloons and presents. They even sang
"Happy Birthday."
But this year wasn't like the year before. The Burbank family marked
Alec's birthday at his grave at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood
Hills. The month before, Alec and his mother, Melissa Perez, died of
injuries suffered after their car was broadsided in a Sun Valley
intersection by a Van Nuys man allegedly driving under the influence of
methamphetamines.
Alec and his mother shuttled between homes in Burbank and Pacoima.
Perez, 21, enjoyed Mexican folklorico dancing and was interested in
becoming a Burbank Police officer. She died at the scene on Jan. 1. Alec
died Jan. 5.
Troy Lee Shaw, who allegedly ran a red light and hit the family's car,
is in a county jail awaiting a March 7 hearing. He has pleaded not guilty
to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. If
convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
The crash has left the family reaching for ways to cope.
"I'm going to dedicate myself to change this," Alec's father, Edwin
Gonzalez, said. "I don't ever want the same thing to happen to another
person. This is the most horrible I've ever felt."
Gonzalez, who still can't spend the night at his Pacoima home because
the sight of his child's toys are too painful, is focusing on reforming
Proposition 36. Shaw was enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program under
Prop. 36 at the time of the crash, officials said. The law, approved in
2000, allows nonviolent drug offenders to be diverted to drug
rehabilitation programs rather than spend time in jail.
Gonzalez can't understand how someone undergoing rehabilitation could
be on the streets.
"They need to study the person that is going to be rehabilitated,"
Gonzalez said. "It's an easy way out for many people. It makes the jails
a little more empty."
Perez's aunt, Mary Lou, has already contacted Mothers Against Drunk
Driving and state political representatives, inquiring about stiffer
legislation. But she acknowledges that it's hard to effect change,
fighting a sense her frustration is leading her to grasp at straws. She
said she is researching other options.
Los Angeles Police Det. Dwight Gillett, who is investigating the case,
has seen that frustration before, and sees it in Marc Cohen, Perez's
stepfather.
"Right now, it's really out of his hands," Gillett said. "At this
point there's really not a whole lot he can do, [except let the court
case play out.]"
