Ore. prison inmates chip in for toddler's gravestone

SALEM, Ore. – The story of a 2-year-old girl hit by a truck and killed in a Salem parking lot has touched the hearts of prisoners in her hometown.

Inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem have gathered up funds to ensure Erika Meza has a proper gravestone.

Erika Meza was killed on Nov. 24 when she was hit by a truck in the parking lot of Stoneridge Apartments, the Salem apartment complex where she lived. She was walking with her 12-year-old sister when the incident happened.

Her mother, Martha, lost her job after her daughter's death. The Statesman Journal reports that inmates at the prison saw the story of Meza's death and different groups inside the prison started collecting donations.

A $670 check was cut last week and has been delivered to Virgil T. Golden's Funeral Service. The funeral company believes that money will cover the marker and installation at the cemetery.

Timothy Espinoza, treasurer of the Chicano Club inside the prison says they don't have a lot of money themselves, but wanted to help. Prisoners who make between $40 and $100 a month donated as much as they could, sometimes as much as $20, Espinoza said.

The driver of the truck that killed Meza, Juan Lopez-Perez, pleaded guilty in December to failing to perform the duties of a driver in a crash. Defense attorney Steven Walls said his client left the scene Nov. 24 because a crowd was gathering, he feared for his safety and he was in the country illegally.

Walls said the 31-year-old Lopez-Perez has been married for 16 years, has three children and no record of criminal behavior. The man was a neighbor of the girl who died, and a long-time tenant at this kid-friendly apartment complex.

On Dec. 17, Lopez-Perez was sentenced to 17 months in prison.