Nick Renteria took the mic at the West Hollywood City Council, his words raw with grief. He honored Erica Edwards, a 37-year-old performer killed in a hit-and-run on Sunset Boulevard. He begged the city to act, saying her death can’t be forgotten.
“There’s no ghost bike for her, no memorial,” Renteria said of Edwards, struck down June 29, 2025, weeks before cyclist Blake Ackerman’s hit-and-run on Fountain Avenue. Edwards, or Tilly, was hit by a speeding Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon near Sierra Bonita Avenue. She’d just performed at an LGBTQ+ fundraiser. Her husband, Kris, posted online: “We got our dream home. We wanted kids next.” A GoFundMe by Kris’s sister, Andrea, helps bury her. Tilly’s light still burns in WeHo’s heart.
Renteria laid out hard numbers. West Hollywood tops California for pedestrian, motorcycle, nighttime, and hit-and-run crashes. It ranks seventh of 90 cities, per state data. “That’s not leadership,” he said. “We lead the nation, but not like this.” He recalled WeHo’s fight for renters and AIDS survivors. “We can protect our own,” he urged. “Fountain’s just the start.”
Residents hammered Fountain Avenue’s dangers. Kevin Burton, West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition co-founder, announced an August 19 Plummer Park meeting. It’ll push bike lanes, safer sidewalks. Alex Silverman, hit by a car here, said, “It could’ve been me.” Andrew Solomon slammed four years of stalled votes. “No more delays,” he demanded. Jordan Beard called Ackerman’s death a process failure. Alec White, rattled at Ackerman’s vigil, said, “Even sidewalks aren’t safe.”
The City Manager shared fixes. Fountain’s speed limit dropped to 30 mph. Radar signs, warning lights, and barriers are up. Sheriff tickets pile high. More changes—parking tweaks, signal upgrades—hit the council September 15.
Councilmember John Erickson, a Fountain resident, fumed. “Tickets won’t cut it. Cars treat it like a freeway.” He blasted 2024 bike lane protests. “No more deaths,” he said, pushing a streetscape with art, greenery.
Renteria’s plea, piercing a briefly disrupted meeting, kept Edwards alive. Police hunt the driver with a $50,000 reward. Her loss drives WeHo to fight for safer streets.
I think it is time to split Fountain Ave. away from the Los Angeles side. Most drivers on there use Fountain as a west-east bypass. As many drivers do not live in West Hollywood and just go through, they should be on Sunset or Santa Monica Blvd instead. Sunset and Santa Monica Blvd. are built for the density of traffic seen there on those streets. Fountain Ave. is not. It is more narrow. I say split Fountain Ave. at La Brea Ave. and start forcing the traffic to the other two west-east boulevards. Fountain Ave. should become more calmer with… Read more »