A memorial dedicated to a child killed in 1970 is in bad shape, says a man organizing a crowdfunding campaign to implement a new one. David Gonzales, a retired Santa Barbara police officer, is seeking funds from locals for his old classmate, whose death at 11 years old led to the building of a traffic stoplight on Cliff Drive.
Curtis “Chipper” Nelson was walking along a crosswalk between Cliff Drive and Flora Vista Drive in front of Monroe Elementary School on January 21, 1970, when he was killed by an oncoming vehicle. Gonzales recalled Chipper as a simple, fun-loving kid who enjoyed nature. Chipper’s father would visit during recess to tell stories to the schoolkids, he said. Other children may have picked on Chipper at times, Gonzales said, but generally the children in his sixth grade class got along with him fine.
The community was stunned by Chipper’s passing. Even more so, they were angry that the intersection where he was killed had no stoplights or traffic signals. According to Gonzales, the community had already considered the lack of traffic guidance on that particular crosswalk “dangerous,” as it lay right next to an elementary school.