Friends, Family March for Justice for Woon, Pen Personal Messages Asking for Change

2:23 PM PST on December 16, 2019

Friends and supporters of Frederick “Woon” Frazier march up Normandie to honor his memory and ask for the city to slow their streets down. All photos by Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

This past Saturday, friends, family members, and their supporters called for safer streets in honor of Frederick "Woon" Frazier, the 22-year-old cyclist killed in a hit-and-run at Manchester and Normandie in April of 2018. They first gathered at 94th and Normandie, at the home Woon had shared with his mother and her husband, before marching a dozen blocks north to the site where he had been left in the street to die.

Among them was his young son, Frederick "3 Scoops" Frazier III, and his mother, Troyona (below). Woon never knew he had a son on the way - Troyona found out she was pregnant shortly after he passed.

As noted last week, the march was as much about drawing attention to the scourge of hit-and-runs as serving as an expression of the pain and frustration of Woon's mother, Beverly Owens Addison.

Born and raised in South Central - a community long overlooked for investments in infrastructure - Ms. Beverly has no idea how to begin asking for the kinds of change she would like to see on the streets outside her home. All she knows is change can't come soon enough.

Between having to rush out into the street to bear witness to the death of two of her neighbors (also killed in a hit-and-run) this past September and the struggle she, 3 Scoops' mother, and the families of her deceased neighbors have all had trying to stay housed in the wake of these tragedies, she's at her wits' end.

Woon's friends and cycling companions are frustrated, too. Not only did they lose a young friend in a city where the lives of too many Black and brown youth are needlessly stolen, but they were reminded of how quickly their own lives could be snuffed out.

Not that they really needed reminding.

As a group of riders that tends to bike out of necessity - both because they don't have other transportation and because it is the thing that keeps them sane - they're regularly faced with all kinds of dangers, including potholes. The one below sent William flying over his handlebars as the group pedaled back up toward Expo Park.

William hit a pothole on Figueroa and went flying over his handlebars. He landed on his shoulder, but his knees got torn up in the process. He was grateful his bike wasn't damaged so he could pedal home, but he bled all the way back to Expo Park. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A. — William hit a pothole on Figueroa and went over his handlebars. His shoulder absorbed a lot of the impact, but his knees still got torn up in the process. He was able to pedal home, but he bled all the way. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Most of the cyclists present for the march had been hit at least once by a careless driver. Many said they'd been hit multiple times and that many of those hits had been by drivers who fled the scene.

Below is a compilation of their voices and images, so you can hear directly from them about what Woon's loss meant to them and about their fears for their own safety.

Frederick Bowen (second from right, above) was hit by suspects fleeing the scene of a drive-by shooting while walking with his bike to catch the train. He spent a week in the hospital and has been waiting for over a year for the city to give him his Beats headphones back.

Joseph (just to the right of the Safer Roads for All sign, above) recounts that he'd been hit and side-swiped multiple times, but that he keeps riding because it's his only way to get to work on time. He invites readers and elected officials to ride the streets he does and see what he faces every day (below, at left).

Troyana (blue hoop earrings above, center left) writes below that the loss of her boyfriend and father to Frederick III has torn her to pieces. Woon's mother, Beverly Owens, writes that she loved her son (top right).

Michael McKinney (holding the sign above) says below (at left) that he was hit at Manchester and Vermont in the crosswalk. The lady that hit him drove away and left him with a bike that was no longer rideable.

Hunter (center, white helmet) writes below that he came to show solidarity for communities that don't get the investment they need.

From the beginning, Edin Barrientos (above, right) has led the charge for safer streets on behalf of Woon, Ms. Beverly, and the largely South Central-based crew he rides with.

Ernesto Herrera (center, arm raised) writes below that bikes have rights, too.

Fixie Goons and 2WheelGang riders show love.

William (at center) prior to his injury.

"Whenever I ride, I think if I'll make it back to see my mom wake up or to have dinner. Put yourself in our shoes."

Michelle Paravicini (at right) writes about all the benefits of riding bikes (below, top right), while a member of Woon's crew says things don't feel the same without him. Two other riders talk about the importance of being able to ride without fear and to get to their destinations safely.

Isiah Moore (red hoodie) says no parent should have to bury their child.

"Whooda" (in the red car but better known for his wheelie skills) burned rubber to send up love for his fallen friend.

For more on Woon’s case, see our previous coverage below.

Sahra Sulaiman

@sahrasulaiman

Sahra is Communities Editor for Streetsblog L.A., covering the intersection of mobility with race, class, history, representation, policing, housing, health, culture, community, and access to the public space in Boyle Heights and South Central Los Angeles.