News
Email
Print
Boy is killed by car on 311
He was riding bike to see girl he met on Internet
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 13, 2009
Yesterday, Mark Daniel Zanzarella was to have started a new life with his father in Putnam Valley, N.Y.
Instead, family members spent much of the day at his mother's town house in Clemmons grieving his loss, after he was killed in the early hours of the morning about 16 miles from his home.
Mark, 14, was riding his sister's 20-inch pink "Next Slumber Party" bicycle on U.S. 311 near Union Cross Road when he was hit by a car.
He was on his way to visit a girl he knew from the Internet before he left, relatives and neighbors said. Directions to her house were found in his pocket.
"He didn't have permission to be out," Earlene Jones, his mother, said.
Police said that he was either in the left southbound lane or was crossing the road from east to west when he was hit. Angelica Vazquez Rincon, 18, of Asheboro was driving the car. Neither speed nor alcohol was a factor in the wreck.
Police were looking for the driver of a red pick-up who stopped to help who they believe may have seen the collision. It was the city's 14th traffic fatality this year, compared with six at this time last year.
Jones said that she went to bed around 10 on Saturday night and left Mark packing for his move to New York.
She did not realize he was gone until Mark's father came to the house the next morning looking for their son.
Jones then went through the neighborhood, looking for Mark at a friend's house.
Maria Bracero, who has lived in the neighborhood for six years, described herself as the "neighborhood mom."
She said that Mark was a frequent visitor.
"He was a good kid," she said. "We look out for all the kids."
Bracero described the diverse neighborhood as close-knit with blacks, whites and Hispanics living together. Yesterday, people clustered in knots along neighborhood streets to discuss how they could help the family.
Jones said that her son liked skateboarding, music and video games. He had just finished the eighth grade at Clemmons Middle School.
"He was the class clown," she said. "He was always cracking jokes."
Cosmo Zanzarella, Mark's father, said that his son was outgoing, but had a sensitive nature and a kind heart.
Mark had an older brother, Jake Zanzarella, 16, and a young sister, Annie Jones.
Annie said that today is her 10th birthday and she can't quite comprehend that her brother is gone -- especially so close to her birthday, which is usually a happy occasion.
She wants people to know what kind of a person he was, she said.
"He was a great brother. He was a very giving brother," she said, "who made stupid mistakes sometimes."
■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at mgiunca@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
