Bakersfield.com: Kern County news, events, classifieds, shopping, & search

Account set up for girl killed while crossing highway in Wasco

BY JASON KOTOWSKI AND JOHN COX, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jkotowski@bakersfield.com; jcox@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Mar 13 2008 2:13 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Mar 13 2008 2:24 PM

Martha Perez enjoyed playing games with friends and running around on the patio with her siblings.

Our readers recommend:

Loading Stories

Like Martha Perez, 5-year-old Erica Guerra was crossing the street in Wasco to catch up with her mom and siblings when she was struck by a car and killed last May.

Photos:

Martha Perez, a 7th grader at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, was struck March 11 at Highway 43 and Filburn Street where she was ran westbound across the highway.

Related Stories:

• Young Wasco girl killed crossing the street

She also spent time carrying on with her siblings in a pool and playing hand-held video games.

“She was fun,” said her mother, Maria Rosario Perez.

Martha Perez, 12, died from injuries suffered Tuesday when she crossed Highway 43 in Wasco and was hit by at least one vehicle.

She was flown to Kern Medical Center and pronounced dead about an hour after the 7:30 p.m. accident, the coroner’s office said.

Maria Perez was pushing a baby in a stroller and had already crossed the highway with another sibling, Sheriff’s Sgt. Matt Lee has said. Maria Perez told her daughter to run across the street.

An account was opened Thursday at the Bank of America in Wasco for donations to help pay for Martha’s funeral. The account number is 0004366251.

Classmates of Martha’s at Thomas Jefferson Middle School have talked about making a mural to remember her, Maria Perez said.

“Everybody here in Wasco knew her,” Maria Perez said. “They liked her a lot because she was a good girl."