Two Point Loma neighborhoods were left reeling after separate traffic accidents roughly a mile-and-a-half apart left a 3-year-old toddler and a 24-year-old woman dead in the span of less than two hours on Aug. 2. In the first instance, the toddler, reportedly visiting from New Mexico to attend his older brother’s graduation from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, darted in front of a Toyota Tacoma near his parents’ hotel at the intersection of Nimitz Boulevard and Rosecrans Street shortly before 7:30 p.m. The boy, identified as Arthur Roan, was struck by the truck and whisked by emergency officials to UCSD Medical Center before being transferred to Rady Children’s Hospital. The toddler died of his injuries just hours later. In the second case, a 24-year-old woman lost control of her Volkswagen Passat while driving in the 3300 block of Cañon Street near Willow Street in the Roseville/Fleetridge area shortly before 9 p.m. The vehicle traveled to the opposite side of the street, jumping the curb and smashing into a stand of palm trees, according to police. The victim, who authorities said was seatbelted and alone, was identified as Taylor Alexandra Vasquez. She died at the scene. The cause of the accident is unclear, according to police.
