Vigil mourns 14-year-old killed in suspected DUI crash near Balboa Fun Zone

Friends of Rosenda Elizabeth Smiley said they looked up to her because she was intelligent, opinionated and stood up for people when it seemed like they weren’t being treated fairly. They said the 14-year-old from Rialto whom everyone knew as Rose wielded a dry wit that humbled bullies but also made her fun to talk to about school, boys, family and any other drama that might have been on their minds.

“She would always second guess her smartness,” classmate Dalilah Leiva, 14, said. “Like, she would kind of say she wasn’t very smart. But everyone knew she was really smart. She was very doubtful about herself, but everyone knew she was good.”

She was set to begin high school in the fall and appeared poised to mature into a leader, parents Glori Smiley and Fillmore Smiley said. But Rose’s loved ones won’t get a chance to see her come into her own.

The teen was walking across the intersection of Balboa Boulevard and Palm Street in Newport Beach when a car driven by a suspected drunk driver struck and killed her on Saturday, May 25.

The man behind the wheel, Joseph Alcazar of Fontana, had previously been convicted of driving under the influence in 2016. Because of his record he was charged with second degree murder, rather than manslaughter, in connection with Rose’s death.

“The decision to drink and drive cost my daughter six or seven decades, decades of her life,” the girl’s father said during a vigil in her honor Saturday, June 1 at the site of the crash.

Glori Smiley and Fillmore Smiley host a news conference Saturday, June 1, at the intersection of Balboa Boulevard and Palm Street. Their daughter, Rosenda Elizabeth Smiley, died there a week earlier after a car driven by an alleged drunk driver hit her while she was crossing.

(Eric Licas)

He is a clinical therapist who works with people dealing with addiction. On Saturday he called for an overhaul of the laws penalizing drunk driving, calling for jail time regardless of whether another person is injured.

“Two DUIs and you’re an alcoholic; it’s as simple as that,” Fillmore Smiley said. “And alcoholics need help. Second DUI should be mandatory drug courts … third DUI, you’re an alcoholic who didn’t take an opportunity, and you should have a minimum mandatory prison sentence.”

He went on to thank the first responders and an as-of-yet unnamed EMT who tried to save his daughter’s life. He also shared a list of adjectives to describe Rose from more than 50 friends and relatives who joined her parents at the vigil, among them “thoughtful,” “loving,” “brave,” “funny,” “strong” and “kind.”

Glori Smiley sits Saturday, June 1, in front of a memorial at Balboa Boulevard and Palm Street made in her daughter’s memory. Rosenda Elizabeth Smiley died at that intersection after an alleged drunk driver hit her as she was crossing the street.

(Eric Licas)

The people who came to grieve with Rose’s family included her brother, friends who had known her since kindergarten, relatives from San Diego County as well as her boyfriend and his family. A photo of the young couple was among a handful of other pictures, letters of encouragement, candles, cupcakes, Red Vines, Tropical Skittles and flowers laid out beneath a pedestrian safety barrier over the weekend. A table with coffee and water sat in a parking lot about 40 feet away from mourners, many of whom dried tears from their eyes and cheeks before uncapping their beverages Saturday evening.

“What’s giving me strength right now is the overwhelming love and support we’ve gotten,” Glori Smiley said. “We were never a religious family; we were spiritual. I know that Rose is still with us. I know that her spirit surrounds us and her love is still with is, and I know she always will be.

“It’s just,” she paused to gather herself before continuing her thoughts, “never gonna be the same thing without her arms around us.”

Flowers, candles and cupcakes surround a photo of Rosenda Elizabeth Smiley at Balboa Boulevard and Palm Street in Newport Beach on Saturday, June 1. She died at that intersection a week earlier after a car driven by an alleged drunk driver hit her while she was crossing.

( Eric Licas)

She described her daughter as a “miracle baby.” Glori Smiley had been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition affecting between 5% and 10% of women between the ages of 15 and 44. She went through numerous miscarriages, and experienced multiple serious complications on the way to giving birth to Rose.

“We would laugh as she grew up because, had we known how stubborn and tenacious and what a fighter she was, we wouldn’t have worried when I was pregnant with her,” she continued. “Because we would have known she would have been OK.”

She said “no amount of justice” can bring back what her family lost a week ago in a crash less than 200 feet from the Balboa Fun Zone’s Ferris wheel. They can’t help but wonder what could have been. But for now, she’s focusing on the light Rose brought to their lives, grateful for the 14 years they were able to watch her shine.