Members of the local Haitian community hugged, cried and sang in Creole on Wednesday at the site of a fatal crash that claimed the lives of two cousins seeking asylum.
“They were kind people,” said Johny Oxeda, executive pastor of First Haitian Baptist Church Ebenezer in City Heights. “Gentle, quiet, and with dreams.”
At about 11:15 a.m. Jan. 1, cousins Nadia Charles and Junior Joseph Saint-Juste were crossing Broadway at Buena Vista Avenue after walking down the street from their Lemon Grove home when a car passing through the intersection struck another car.
One of the cars struck the two pedestrians, who died at the scene.
On Wednesday, a smashed 7/Eleven sign was still in pieces on the corner. Flowers, candles and messages of condolences filled the sidewalk.
Across the street, the First Haitian Baptist Church Ebenezer and Haitian Refugee Community Center had set up chairs and a microphone for people to share their thoughts.
In the front row, a woman Oxeda identified as Saint-Juste’s older sister was overwhelmed with grief and appeared to be singing something repeatedly in Haitian Creole.
“She’s saying, ‘I lost my friend, I lost my cousin, I lost my brother,’” Oxeda interpreted.
Oxeda, a refugee himself, founded the Haitian Refugee Community Center in 2011 and said the cousins had arrived as asylum seekers last April. Saint-Juste had dreams of becoming an architect and Charles wanted to be a nurse.
They both were studying English as a second language in hopes of enrolling in school, and Oxeda said they were planning to attend a workshop at his church to help new immigrants acclimate to the local culture last Sunday.
As a fundraiser for the family, the Haitian Refugee Community Center sold T-shirts with photos of Charles and Saint-Juste, along with their birthdays and day they died.
Charles had turned 20 on Dec. 13. Saint-Juste, who has a 6-year-old son in Haiti, would have been 21 on Wednesday.
Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow addressed mourners, and grew emotional as she shared a story of her own grief.
“I know personally what it’s like to lose a family member under these circumstances,” she said. “Just over 10 years ago, my brother-in-law was killed by a drunk driver as he was riding his bicycle to work.
“Today is his birthday, too,” she added. “He would have been 49 years old this year.”
It’s unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the Lemon Grove accident. Sheriff’s Sgt. William Price was at the gathering Wednesday and said the crash is still under investigation. There have been no arrests and it’s not yet clear which car had run a red light, said Price, adding that blood tests that could identify drugs or alcohol usually take two weeks to complete.
“For the family members that are left behind, nothing’s the same anymore,” Snow continued. “It is so hard to share this grief with the community, but please know that you don’t mourn alone. We are here to mourn with you.
“As a community, we’re here and we’re pulling together,” she said. “We will strive to help the rest of the family. Junior also has a young son. We want to be there for him as well.”
Photos on display at the gathering show the two cousins full of life. One picture shows Charles smiling with a hand on her hip and wearing a shirt covered with hearts and the words, “I love you.” Another photo shows Saint-Juste proudly wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey.
A GoFundMe page is online to help the family cover funeral expenses and other costs.
“Both Nadia and Junior had survived catastrophic earthquakes, unimaginable poverty, intense violence, and political instability in Haiti,” a description of them on the site reads. “They journeyed over 3,000 miles to find safety in San Diego County, where their families worked tirelessly to provide them with a brighter future.”
As of Wednesday, the site had raised $2,700 toward a $25,000 goal.
