Community mourns Elmont H.S. student

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On Feb. 1, an Elmont family experienced an almost unimaginable tragedy. Gabrielle Christina Johnson, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Elmont High School, stood on the corner of Village Avenue and Elmont Road, waiting to cross the street. She had walked from her house, east of the school, down Village Avenue and across Elmont Road most days since she started school in September.

But as Gabrielle — Gabby to her friends — stepped off the curb and into the street, the light was still green. There was no crossing guard at the intersection, and she was struck by an oncoming 2013 Nissan Rogue SUV. It was 7:35 a.m. At 8:52 a.m., Gabrielle died in a bed at Franklin Hospital.

The next day, members of the Johnson family visited the site of the accident, looking for answers and comfort. A nearby lamppost, on Elmont Road, had been turned into a makeshift memorial. Gabrielle’s older sister, Paula, 28, and two of her cousins, Jalissa Murray, 22, and Lastania Smith, 27, gathered at the site for the first time since the incident.

When Paula saw the balloons, candles and flowers at the bottom of the lamppost, she started to sob. Her cousins consoled her as she clutched a nearby fence to hold herself up. “My little sister is gone,” she told the Herald. “She was a loving little girl.”

A safe crossing

Gabrielle’s death touched many in the community, including State Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Valley Stream). “It deeply saddens me to hear that we lost another young life in our community,” she said. “This is a life that we lost that we didn’t have to lose.”

The intersection where Gabrielle was hit is used by many students who come from the east side of Elmont Road to cross. An open gate leads to the back entrance of the high school, a few feet north of the intersection. Gabrielle walked that way virtually every day, her family said. The north side of the intersection does not have a cross walk or a pedestrian walk signal, as the south side does. As a result, some have blamed Gabrielle for the accident, Murray said.

“I’m so mad,” she said. “She knew better than anybody how to cross the street. For all the stories saying she didn’t look both ways, she looked both ways and she is very aware of how to cross the street.”

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