Little Free Library created at crash site where Burlingame boy died

BURLINGAME, Calif. (KRON) — A Little Free Library was recently created as a memorial for Ayden Everest Fang, a 4-year-old Burlingame boy who was killed while playing with a friend outside a poke restaurant.

Ayden loved reading, his family said. “Four was a magical age for Ayden. He suddenly started to write, read, swim without a floatie, bike without training wheels, and sing in Spanish,” his family wrote.

On the evening of August 8, little Ayden was playing just outside Truffle Poke Bar in Burlingame with his friend. The friend’s father and sister were nearby, according to Ayden’s family. At the same time, an 11-year-old child was riding an electric bicycle that crashed into an SUV, driven by a 19-year-old San Mateo woman on Donnelly Avenue, according to police and family members.

After the e-bicycle versus SUV crash, the SUV suddenly “accelerated forward across Donnelly Avenue, onto the north sidewalk, and into the Truffle Bar Restaurant,” the Burlingame Police Department wrote. Ayden and a 6-year-old girl were struck on the sidewalk, police said.

“The SUV struck Ayden and killed him instantly,” his family wrote. The girl was treated for injuries at Stanford Hospital.

In the wake of the tragedy, hundreds of Burlingame community members and police officers attended a vigil for remembering Ayden.

His family members created a Little Free Library near the crash site, because, “on top of his love of books, this also felt like a fitting way to reflect his curious and sharing nature,” a verified GoFundMe page states.

Ayden had started the “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” reading challenge at Burlingame Public Library, and he had just finished his first 100, according to his family. The boy never had a chance to turn in his list of completed books to the library.

The Burlingame Public Library donated books to keep the Little Free Library’s shelves full.

Ayden’s mother hand-painted the little library to match a Lego monument he built just two days before he died. Ayden, who usually liked reading or playing with his brother after dinner, wanted to build something that night.

“With a sense of purpose, he said he wanted to build something. He then made a tower that he was so proud of that he wanted to take a photo with it. Instead of breaking down the tower and putting the Legos away like he usually does, he insisted on putting this creation on top of the family room mantel himself,” the boy’s family wrote.

More than $100,000 in donations have poured into a GoFundMe page to support the boy’s grieving family and to honor Ayden. They are now creating a memorial scholarship in Ayden’s name at his school, FSM Montessori, as well as advocating for pedestrian safety initiatives.

The police department is still investigating what led up to the August 8 crash. Police said the teenaged driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.