The mother of a 13-year-old boy killed by a motorist who allegedly ran a red light vowed Thursday to fight for justice via sentencing reform, while also praying her son felt no pain that day. 

“I sure hope he died with that smile on his face without even knowing what happened to him,” Victoria Cegielski said, tears falling. “I pray to the lord that it was just a light turned off.” 

Alex Mackiewicz died March 6 after being hit by a car while in the crosswalk, with the light, going to school at Mountain Ridge Middle School. 

She was joined by her husband, Owen Cegielski, and Alex’s father, Robert Mackiewicz, with Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly at a news conference Thursday. 

“If I remain private, his loud scream of death will not be heard,” Cegielski said. “Something has to happen in the memory of my son.”

Mackiewicz was struck by a driver who allegedly ran a red light. The teenager, on his way to school, had the right of way and was in the crosswalk, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

“Traffic safety for school kids should be a priority,” the victim’s father, Robert Mackiewicz, said. “No parent should ever go through this.”

Mackiewicz was heading to school on Venneford Ranch Road around 7 a.m. on a Onewheel electric skateboard. He continued through the intersection of Venneford Ranch Road and Highlands Ranch Parkway with the right-of-way and in the crosswalk, according to a news release from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Ruben Morones, 52, was driving eastbound on Highlands Ranch Parkway, approaching the intersection. Morones then allegedly drove through the red light on Highlands Ranch Parkway, hitting Mackiewicz on the opposite side of the intersection.

Morones was arrested on March 13 and faces charges of careless driving causing serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user, careless driving causing death and failure to obey a traffic control signal.

Investigation showed that Morones was not under the influence and there were no signs of speeding. He’s been released on $500 bond and is scheduled to be back in court April 22.

Mackiewicz was not wearing a helmet while operating the electric skateboard. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said, though they advocate for the use of helmets, they do not believe it would have made a difference in this particular crash.  

To the victim’s family, the one-year maximum prison sentence that the careless driving causing death charges bring is not enough.

“I will work with Douglas County to make sure that no mistake can go unpunished,” Cegielski said. “Laws are really weak and, unfortunately, it’s not tough enough. I don’t see the justice for my little boy.”

Weekly agreed that penalties against careless drivers — especially involving deaths — are too low. 

“This family lost a son. They lost a brother. And, on top of all of that, the justice system is likely to fail them as well,” he said. 

Weekly added, though declining to go into detail about the specific case, the department will stand with the family during their future fight to bring about “appropriate changes in the state of Colorado.”

Colorado saw a record-breaking number of 136 pedestrian crash deaths in 2023, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. 

The year 2022 saw the state’s highest number on record, with 115 deaths. This number represented 15% of the state’s total traffic fatalities.

“People tragically die in motor vehicle accidents or as pedestrians throughout this entire state on a regular basis. It’s a headline for a day or two, and then people forget,” Weekly said, emphasizing that the family and department would like to see more awareness around safe driving and increased traffic enforcement.

“We’re not going to let this be another headline for a day or two and then move on until the next child dies,” he said.

Cegielski said their mission to keep the teen’s spirit alive will involve creating a permanent memorial at the intersection, fighting for better traffic laws and attempting to lower the speed limit in that specific area.

She continuously looked back at the pictures of the teen standing behind her at the podium. She kept calling him “just a boy” and mentioned his perfect nose and baby cheeks. 

To the family, Mackiewicz was a beacon of gratitude, perseverance and compassion. 

The teen had fallen in love with baseball, continued to follow in the foot steps of his older sister through his passion for engineering and illuminated kindness to everyone he met. 

Mackiewicz was beaming with jubilation on his way to school that morning, according to the family. It was the first day of baseball — something he had been looking forward to.