One Year Later: Community Mourns Calli Murray

The mood was somber Thursday night as the community gathered for a candlelight vigil at Sunrise Park to remember 2-year-old Calli Murray on the first anniversary of her death. Calli was killed on Dec. 1, 2010 by Kaitlyn Dunaway, now 19, who was Nov. 16 of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Dunaway admitted that she was texting and driving when she , who were walking in the crosswalk leaving Sunrise Park on their way home, in the early evening hours.

Christal Barquero, who witnessed the accident, came early to the candlelight vigil. She stood at the crosswalk and put her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face.

"Something great was lost that we just can't get back," Barquero said, as she described the image of Calli and Ling walking hand-in-hand in the crosswalk. "People need to pay attention. It's up to us to take care of eachother."

As Ling and and her husband, Jeff Murray, passed out candles to about 50 people who circled a picnic table near the playground that Murray said was his daughter's favorite place, families and friends talked about the accident. They remembered Calli. But mostly, the conversation centered on what could be done to combat distracted driving.

Murray said what he hopes people remember is to "put down your phones."

"It's been a troubling year, especially today. We keep hoping that it makes us stronger, but today is hard," Murray said to the crowd. "Everyone here has loved our family — whether you knew us one day, or you knew us for 44 years. We couldn't be here today without your love and support."

Caryol Hindmon, the Murrays' neighbor, came to show her support.

"I didn't even know them until this," Hindmon said about the Murrays. "We need to be good neighbors, to watch out for eachother, and do whatever it takes to change these laws."

Shannon Loza, a longtime family friend who lives in Cotati, brought three balloons to the vigil.

"One for her first year, another for her second year," Loza said in tears. "Calli would have been three tonight."

Greg and Lisa Goben, who live in Rohnert Park, came to show support for "Calli's Law," and the Murrays.

"We have a daughter," Goben said. "I can't imagine the pain and suffering of the loss they've had to go through. We felt we had to come out tonight to celebrate Calli's life, and I hope this makes people think when they hear their phone when they're driving, not to pick it up."

Hollie Weathers, who was at the vigil with her son and husband, said she was torn about how she felt.

"I feel an incredible amount of grief, but I have hope that Calli's Law will be passed," she said.

The Murrays continue to fight to take "Calli's Law" to Sacramento. The family aims to get legislators and the governor to pay attention to what's become an epidemic amongst drivers — texting or talking on the phone while driving. They want lawmakers to make distracted driving comparable in both fines and jail time to a driving under the influence violation.

"We came together to support Calli's Law, and to help save lives by not being a distracted driver," Murray said at Thursday night's vigil. "Put down your phones."

Recent data underscores the push to increase fines and impose possible jail time for distracted driving.

A survey published Nov. 30 by the California Office of Traffic Safety reported that "in dramatic turnaround, California drivers ranked cell phone talking and texting as the biggest safety problems on the road in 2011, decisively moving past the top problems of 2010, which were speeding and aggressive driving."

“This second year of surveying the opinions and habits of California’s drivers shows how quickly they react to the real problems we all face on the road,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “This information provides us with unique insight into the concerns of Californians. It is very telling that we’ve seen such a shift in opinions on cell phone use in just one year.”

Drunk driving and bad roads also topped the list. Read the full report and see the data here.

State lawmakers earlier this year to beef up fines for distracted driving, but it was .

State Senator Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who introduced SB 28, called the veto “a lost opportunity to save more lives.” Simitian said he would, “review the Governor’s veto message to see if there is any room for compromise in the coming year.”