Andrew “Drew” Pringle was killed by a driver who ran a red light in Rosemont on April 23, 2023. He was 21 and his mother and sisters were devastated — and the official muted response only deepened their grief.
Drew was crossing Folsom Boulevard on his skateboard when he was fatally struck; the driver received eight months in jail with an option for work release, plus a year of probation. Sacramento County did not change the intersection to force traffic to slow down to safer speeds. His family felt as though California, where more than 1,000 pedestrians die each year, had treated his life as expendable.
Drew’s mother, Cheryl Pringle, mourns quietly. She rarely enters his bedroom because it’s too painful, but she still pauses outside the closed door to tell him she’s home. Inside, for two years, his favorite wool hat and jean jacket have remained among the reminders of the baby she adopted and raised with tenderness.
His sister Erika carries her grief into action. She visits the crash site often, organized the region’s first Capitol vigil for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, and speaks publicly to demand stronger responses to fatal crashes. In her personal life, she set her wedding date on Drew’s birthday and chose to wear a black wedding dress — a deliberate tribute that ensures her brother is present in the milestone he’ll never see.
Their sister Michelle keeps Drew’s memory alive in the next generation. A photo of the siblings embracing appears on her screensaver as her infant son, Andrew James Glass, naps nearby — named after the uncle he will never meet. She says that if she has another boy, she’ll name him Mathew — Drew’s middle name — to honor her brother again.
Most pedestrian deaths can be prevented through better traffic policies and road design — such as mitigating how drivers approach crosswalks. A crosswalk was where Drew was struck and killed, making him part of a growing list of pedestrian fatalities in the region. To his family, he was so much more than a statistic; he was a gentle, goofy and sentimental young man, and the loss has reshaped every corner of their lives. His family refuses to let him be forgotten.
Ryley French, 10, gazes down at his mother, Erika Pringle, 37, in March as she closes her eyes in meditation, wearing a favorite hoodie that belonged to her late brother Andrew Pringle, whose memorial she created in Rosemont. Erika has visited the site twice a week for the past two years since her brother was struck by a motorist in 2023 while crossing Folsom Blvd. to get McDonald’s lunch before catching the light rail to work — he later died at the hospital. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle, 37, holds photos of her brother, Andrew Pringle, as she looks in March toward the light rail he had hoped to catch in 2023 when he was struck by a motorist who ran a red light at the intersection of Folsom Blvd. and Manlove Road in Rosemont. Andrew died later that night in the hospital. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Andrew Pringle, who was struck by a car and later died in 2023, is remembered for his love of rocks in a memorial near the site of his death in Rosemont. His sister, Erika Pringle, said that once people learned of his death, they began placing painted rocks at a memorial she and friends created near the Watt/Manlove light rail station at Folsom Boulevard and Manlove Road. Her nickname for her brother was “Drew-Boo.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Pedestrians in March walk in a crosswalk in Rosemont where, in 2023, Andrew Pringle, 21, was struck and killed by a car that ran a red light. His older sister, Erika Pringle, hopes a pedestrian bridge could be built in the area to help prevent future road deaths. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle shows a heart tattoo of her brother Andrew Pringle’s fingerprint, with a trace of his ashes mixed into the ink, to her son Ryley French, 10, in March. After his death, she and her sisters all got matching tattoos. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle holds her dog Boo, while drawing a message in April for her brother Andrew Pringle, whom she nicknamed “Drew-Boo,” near the site where he was killed. After his death, Erika said a medium told her she would be given an animal — later, her boss gave her Boo, who was born with a club foot, like her brother. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle wipes away tears after hearing an emergency vehicle siren near the spot where her brother, Andrew Pringle, was struck and killed by a car two years earlier, as she gathers with friends for a memorial in April near the intersection of Folsom Boulevard and Manlove Road in Rosemont. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle, center, gazes down at painted rocks in April that she and her friends cemented at the base of a fence near the light rail station in Rosemont on the second anniversary of the death of her brother Andrew Pringle, who was struck by a motorist while crossing Folsom Boulevard. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle shows a tattoo with lyrics from one of her brother Andrew Pringle’s favorite songs during a gathering with friends on the second anniversary of his death on April 23. Andrew was struck by a motorist while crossing Folsom Boulevard near Manlove Road in Rosemont and later died in the hospital. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Cheryl Pringle holds a picture of her son, Andrew Pringle, at right, in May. “He spent a lot of time in his room — he wasn’t the kind of kid who was outside getting into trouble,” she said. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Cheryl Pringle caresses a wool hat her son loved, alongside his favorite jean jacket in his room at their home in Rosemont on May 19, 2025, two years after his death. She said she seldom enters it because it’s too painful. “I very rarely come into his room, but I walk by and I’ll always say, ‘I’m home,’ or I’ll let him know I’m talking to him through a closed door. He’s not here, but in my mind he is — he’s still here.” she said. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Drew Pringle’s ashes rest on top of a corner bookcase in his mother Cheryl Pringle’s home in Rosemont. At left is an acrostic Drew made in fourth grade: “A” was for “Awesome,” “N” for “Never is mean,” “D” for “Drives people very crazy,” “R” for “Really likes cars,” “E” for “Excited a lot,” and “W” for “Works a lot.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Cheryl Pringle wears a beaded bracelet in May 19 with her son’s name on it as she holds one of the puppies she named “Momma,” born to a dog her son, Andrew Pringle, had rescued on the same dangerous road where he was killed. She said she finds comfort in the pets he left behind. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Cheryl Pringle wears a heart-shaped necklace engraved with her son Andrew Pringle’s fingerprint and signature in Rosemont. The other side reads, “We may be apart, but I will always be close to your heart.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Cheryl Pringle is overcome with emotion as she sits beneath her son’s ashes, which rest on a bookcase above her at left, surrounded by photos from his memorial and candles burning in his memory, two years after his death, on May 19, 2025, in Rosemont. She says she wakes up almost every night in tears, knowing she will never see him again. “He loved candles, he loved incense — everything that I loved, he loved,” she said. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle, left, who lost her brother when he was struck by a driver who ran a red light, hugs Marie Martinez, whose son, Shawn Jordan, was also killed when he was struck by a car, in June, the one-year anniversary of Shawn’s death in Rosemont. They both said the only good thing that came out of the deaths of their loved ones was their friendship. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle holds a bracelet engraved with her brother Andrew Pringle’s name that reads “Drew-Boo & Sissy Forever and Always” at he Sacramento salon where she works in July. She says having pictures and mementos nearby helps her focus on the good times with her brother rather than the traumatic memories of his death in the accident. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle holds a bracelet engraved with her brother Andrew Pringle’s name that reads “Drew-Boo & Sissy Forever and Always” at a Sacramento salon where she works in July. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle stands near a mirror with her brother Andrew Pringle’s picture, which reads “This could be your brother,” before giving a tribute for him at a National Day of Remembrance for homicide victims on Sept. 25 at the state Capitol in Sacramento. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Family and friends of homicide victims light candles in tribute on a National Day of Remembrance for homicide victims on Sept. 25 in Sacramento. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle walks in between a display of homicide victims, including one of her brother Andrew Pringle, left, after speaking at a National Day of Remembrance at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 25. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle straightens a hat on display alongside other belongings of her brother Andrew Pringle, including the broken skateboard he was riding when struck by a vehicle that ran a red light, at a National Day of Remembrance for homicide victims at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 25. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle pauses emotionally while speaking about her brother Andrew Pringle at a vigil she organized on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at the state Capitol on Nov. 16. Andrew, pictured below center, was killed in 2023 when a driver ran a red light while he rode his skateboard. Erika organized the event to support other victims of what she calls “vehicular homicide.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle smiles as Victor Seballos at Bridal Box in Roseville helps her during a fitting on Nov. 18 decide on a black wedding dress for her April wedding with her mother, Cheryl Pringle. Erika chose the birthday of her late brother Andrew Pringle as the wedding date; he died in 2023 after being hit by a driver who ran a red light in Rosemont. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
A photo of Michelle Glass, left, and Erika Pringle, right, hugging their late brother, Andrew James Mathew Pringle, is displayed on a screensaver as two-month-old Andrew James Glass —named after his late uncle — naps on Nov. 20 in Rancho Cordova. His uncle was hit by a driver who ran a red light in Rosemont in 2023. Michelle said that if she has another baby and it is a boy, she would name him Mathew to honor her brother a second time. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Michelle Glass holds her 2-month-old son, Andrew James Glass, near a toy basket labeled with his nickname “Drew” on Nov. 20 in Rancho Cordova. Andrew was named after his uncle, Andrew James Mathew Pringle, whose family called him “Drew Boo,” and who died in 2023 after being hit by a driver who ran a red light in Rosemont. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Michelle Glass holds the hand of her 2-month-old son, Andrew James Glass, on a changing table as he smiles at his handmade birth announcement plaque on Nov. 20 in Rancho Cordova. Andrew was named after his uncle, Andrew James Mathew Pringle, who died in 2023 after being hit by a driver who ran a red light in Rosemont. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Renée C. Byer earned the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2007 and was a finalist in 2013. She joined The Bee in 2003. Photographs from her internationally acclaimed book, “Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor,” exhibit worldwide.
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