Coroner identifies girl, 12, killed on freeway after leaving Sacramento foster center
The 12-year-old girl struck and killed Tuesday night on the Capital City Freeway, during an apparent effort to stop a teen who had run into traffic after leaving a nearby children’s receiving home, has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
The coroner has named the victim as Kendra Czekaj of Sacramento.
California Highway Patrol North Sacramento spokesman Office Greg Zumstein said the incident began shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday in the Arden Arcade area when a “distraught” teenage girl left the children’s receiving home located at Watt Avenue and Auburn Boulevard, just south of the freeway.
Czekaj then followed that teen girl into eastbound Capital City Freeway traffic near Watt Avenue as she tried to get her out of harm’s way, Zumstein said.
The girl was hit by 2009 Lexus traveling in the fast lane, according to a CHP news release. The driver, a 40-year-old woman, stopped and cooperated with authorities after colliding with the pedestrian, Zumstein said. Czekaj was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home CEO David Ballard in an emailed statement confirmed the fatal incident involved juveniles from the foster care facility, which is located directly adjacent to the eastbound ramp onto the Capital City Freeway.
“The entire Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento community is devastated by the tragic death on I-80 last night of a youth placed in our temporary shelter care facility,” Ballard told said in a written emailed statement.
Ballard also said the foster center cannot lock children on its campus.
“By law, CRH (as well as other residential facilities for foster children/youth), is not permitted to lock children onto campus to prevent them from leaving,” his statement continued. “Staff is required to follow youth when they leave campus to try to persuade them to return, and CRH did so last night,”
Ballard said the receiving home cannot comment further due to confidentiality laws.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 10:31 AM.
