George Mario McKenna Jr. was 17 years old when he died on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Norwalk. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma on the southbound 605 Freeway at the Rosecrans Avenue on-ramp. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a California Highway Patrol case handled by the Santa Fe Springs area office.
George was a Norwalk teenager who, as CBS Los Angeles put it, "loves sports." On the Thursday night before he died, he was at home watching the NBA Finals. Then, just before midnight, a passerby found him with severe injuries on the freeway on-ramp. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. His grandmother, Christina McKenna, told CBS that he took a phone call just minutes before his death, but she did not know much more than that.
His family struggled to understand how he got there. "The officer said someone had struck him with a vehicle, and he had massive head injuries, and it was a hit-and-run. They left him there on the side of the road," his uncle, Ed Rodriguez, told CBS. Another uncle, Martin Ortega, wondered whether he had been inside a vehicle. "He might have jumped out for a reason unknown or thrown out," he said. His grandmother added, "To get from the house to the freeway is kind of far. I don't think he'd walk over there. Somebody had to pick him up." CBS reported that police also questioned whether it could have been a suicide, and that there were no witnesses or cameras in the area.
George had already lived through great loss. His mother died in a motorcycle accident in 2005, and his older brother died of an aneurysm about nine months before George was killed. His grandmother was raising him. "He loved football and baseball, and his life was just beginning," she told Los Cerritos Community News that September, when the family asked for the return of a homemade concrete memorial cross that had been taken from the spot where he died. "The Memorial was a reminder to the community and to those who loved George that his life should not be forgotten and the person responsible for his death must be found and brought to justice," she said.
Norwalk is a working and middle-class city in southeast Los Angeles County, crossed by the 605 and 5 freeways. Rosecrans Avenue is one of its main east-west streets, and the on-ramp where George was found carries traffic onto the San Gabriel River Freeway.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of George Mario McKenna Jr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than 12 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near the Rosecrans Avenue on-ramp late on the night of June 20, 2013, who spoke with George that evening, or who knows who picked him up, may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can contact the California Highway Patrol's Santa Fe Springs area office, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
