BURLINGAME, Calif. (KGO) — Last month’s tragic death of four-year-old Ayden Fang brought the community together when he was killed after being hit by a car that jumped the sidewalk while he was playing in front of a restaurant with another child. Now for the first time, his parents are speaking out.
“He was a very giving child. He was generous with love. Either with friends or strangers,” said Ting Ting Liu, Ayden Fang’s mom.
We sat in their living room where Ming Fang remembers the last time Ayden ran to him.
“I miss him and his hugs. His favorite thing to do was hugs and kisses. He’ll run over and say, ‘daddy can I get a hug and kiss?’ he would say ‘daddy, I love you’ and I would just hear this trail of laughter, and we are never going to have that again,” said Fang.
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The family of 4-year-old Ayden Fang has identified him as the child killed in a crash Friday night outside of the Poke Bar in downtown Burlingame.
A life cut too short by a chain-reaction crash on August 8 in Burlingame. Ayden was standing on the sidewalk at the restaurant where he was eating with his parents when he was hit by a 19-year-old driver who accelerated onto the sidewalk after being hit by an e-bike.
Ming said their world stopped that day, “He was there right by the door with his friend, the six-year-old girl and one of our friends was out there as well with the younger sibling of that girl and next thing we know, our table and chairs were getting pushed by this SUV inside the restaurant.”
The next thought Ming Fang remembers was, “where is Ayden?”
More than a week after Ayden’s passing, his parents found a message on a Lego tower he built just two days before the crash.
“It was sitting there for over a week, and we never paid too much attention to it until an hour before his viewing. I suddenly noticed the tower looked like a monument and with a closer look I saw the message that said “Protect our City.” Those blocks are not Legos. They are part of a promotional toy from the San Francisco seawall project. There are other blocks with writing in them, but the ones he chose was to “Protect our city,” said Liu.
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“He left a clear message, ‘Protect our city’ – being the responsible child that he was, we have no choice but to carry that responsibility for him,” said Fang.
A message they are now turning into their purpose.
“There will be a permanent memorial at the crash site. We are thinking of different ideas of what is doable and blend that in with road safety initiatives. In the interim, Ting is creating a ‘little free library.’ A symbol of learning and sharing community. We think that is everything Ayden stood for and that is what he wants. We want to place that at the crash site and longer term – we will think of the road safety initiatives,” said Fang.
Ting is painting the little library in the same colors as the Lego tower.
“He loved reading and learning. I think this is the perfect symbol for who Ayden is,” said Liu. “I also talked to the Burlingame library. They are gracious enough to donate some books to start the library, so it will hopefully be up there next week or two.”
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Ting Liu is holding on to the memories she misses the most of her sweet boy.
“We will have those wonderful conversations, and I will lay next to him, and it felt like the world is standing still, I never want to leave,” said Liu. “One of our friends told us after he heard Aiden’s passing, he said, oh, no. Aiden was so kind. He was going to change the world one day. I would like to think that he is changing the world, inspiring us to be more and to do more as we keep his spirit alive through the little library, the scholarships and the ways to protect our community.”
After Ayden’s passing, a family friend created a GoFundMe where the community donated more than $100,000. Funds Ming Fang and Ting Liu are planning to use for a scholarship in Ayden’s name at the school he attended as well as push forward pedestrian safety reforms.
We followed up with the Burlingame police department and they confirmed no charges have been filed against the 19-year-old driver. The public information officer said the case has not been sent to the District Attorney’s office yet.
Ayden’s parents know this will be a long and complex investigation. They are focused on keeping their son’s legacy alive.
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