Mourner after mourner lit candles Monday evening, placing them next to stuffed animals and toys at a busy roadside memorial in North Long Beach to honor a 3-year-old boy who had been killed there days earlier.

Police say Noah Hernandez Perez ran onto Artesia Boulevard near Rose Avenue around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Paramedics rushed the small boy to the hospital, but he soon died from his injuries.

Two days later, dozens of people — mostly wearing white at the request of vigil organizers — gathered at the intersection where Noah was killed.

The community gathered for a vigil for the 3-year-old boy who ran into the street and was fatally struck by a vehicle on Saturday in Long Beach, on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Two women pray alongside Brandon and Carolina Hernandez Perez during a vigil for their 3-year-old son, who was fatally struck by a vehicle on Saturday in Long Beach, on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

“He was happy, loving and full of energy,” Jhonny Martinez Coca, a friend of the family, wrote in Spanish on a GoFundMe for the child’s parents. “He liked cars, his bicycle and his soccer ball.”

Coca wrote that he started the fundraiser “so that our Noah can receive his final goodbye and can rest in peace like the little angel he is.”

Kevin Pacheco, another family friend, said Noah’s parents have lived in Long Beach for the past few years after coming to the U.S. from Colombia. Their group of friends meets up for a barbecue often, usually on Sundays after Noah’s dad, Brandon, finishes playing on a local recreation soccer team.

Two weeks ago, Pacheco met Noah at one of those gatherings.

Claudia Lara lights a candle as she and other friends and family gather for a vigil honoring 3-year-old Noah Nernandez Perez. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
A mourner kneels by the vigil as friends and family gather to honor the memory of Noah Hernandez Perez. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

“He was very rambunctious, jumping around, chasing and picking things up,” Pacheco said.

After leading a group of roughly 75 mourners in prayer along the stretch of road where Noah was hit, Gustavo Garcia of Lo Mejor del Trigo church told the grieving parents, “You have many people who love you.”

Police have said they don’t believe the driver who hit Noah was speeding, distracted or impaired. The driver also stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation, they said.

Artesia has historically been a dangerous street, known as a “high-injury corridor” for pedestrians and bicyclists, according to collision data from 2013 to 2017.

The roadway recently underwent a $44.2 million redesign to add crosswalks, more traffic signals and more lighting along the 3.2-mile stretch through Long Beach. It’s a piece of the Long Beach City Council’s goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2026, an achievement that seems far out of reach at this point. In 2024, 40 people died in crashes, up from 36 in 2023.

As of Monday night, the GoFundMe for Noah’s family had raised slightly less than $2,000 toward its $7,500 goal.