LA HABRA : Teen-Ager Eulogized for Her Dedication

Edelmira Marin was walking to school as usual last week when her young life was cut short by a driver who apparently failed to see her and hit her just a few steps from her home. The 17-year-old Sonora High School student was La Habra’s first traffic fatality this year, authorities said.

At her funeral this week, family members and friends described Marin as a dedicated student and friend who had dreams of going to college and pursuing a career in the music industry. She was her mother’s best friend. She was also a shy girl who enjoyed baby-sitting a newborn niece and loved to listen to her Walkman radio, said her sister, Laura Marin.

“She liked banda music and was learning to dance quebraditas ,” her sister recalled.

The girl, who was carrying schoolbooks and note pads, was in the middle of a College Street crosswalk at La Habra Boulevard when she was hit. Hours later, she was pronounced dead at UCI Medical Center from internal injuries suffered in the accident.

“It appears as though (the driver) just did not see the teen-ager in the middle of the crosswalk,” Sgt. Steve Costanzo said.

The driver, a 43-year-old La Habra man, was not arrested. However, Costanzo said the district attorney’s office was evaluating the case.

Meanwhile, local community groups and schools are trying to raise funds to cover debts from Marin’s funeral expenses.

Students at Sonora High School had a bake sale, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church collected money for the Marin family last weekend. Contributions have reached about $1,300.

The Chicano Poet Society is inviting the public to a fund-raiser at Tlaquepaque Restaurant in Placentia at 7 p.m. on May 26.

“Edelmira loved school and was determined to get an education,” said Herbert Alamo, of the Chicano Poet Society. “She was a good role model and would have had a bright future, but that was taken away from her. We don’t want people to dismiss what happened to her as just another accident.”

Marin is survived by her mother, Edelmira Marin; sisters, Luz Alma Marin, Laura Marin, Griselda Marin and Esmeralda Marin; and brothers Fabian Marin, Alberto Marin and Robert Marin.