Mother and 2-year-old daughter mourned at site of fatal crash near Fresno
Near the site of the crash that killed a mother and her young daughter, community members held a vigil Thursday night to honor their memories.
People gathered at a home near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Walnut Avenue to remember 28-year-old Samantha Kellogg and her 2-year-old daughter, Elena.
An uncle, Gerry Santiago, said Kellogg had always wanted a daughter.
“She had five kids: four boys, one little girl,” Santiago said. “She finally got her baby, and the sad part about it now is that they’re still together.”
Kellogg’s four sons were the first to leave flowers at the center of the vigil site, and attendees followed suit. The four children also opened Christmas gifts that had been wrapped for Elena.
Holding candles, attendees surrounded friends and family members as they grieved, and the evening wound down with a group prayer.
Kellogg and Elena died Wednesday morning in a crash northeast of Easton.
CHP said Kellogg ran a stop sign and was struck by another vehicle. Neither were wearing a seat belt, and the toddler wasn’t in a child safety seat.
The occupants of the other vehicle, a 17-year-old driver and 16-year-old passenger, were wearing their seatbelts and treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.
