The victim's father wants tougher legal penalties and rallied with friends and family to make sure his son did not die in vain.
The road rage crash killed 5-year-old Ayman Arif on Oct. 9 in Van Nuys. He was standing on a street corner with his mother and 2-month-old sister when two cars veered toward them and crushed the family between two parked cars.
The infant survived head injuries and her mother is still recovering in the hospital from multiple fractures and a leg amputation.
"What happened to our son, can happen to any family," Amir Arif, the boy's father, said.
Ayman's father led a demonstration Tuesday at the Van Nuys courthouse where a preliminary hearing date was planned to be set in the road rage case.
Police say 19-year-old Armando Gamboa Ayon of Pacoima and 44-year-old Brian Barnes of Northridge got into a road rage dispute while driving on Sherman Way between Balboa and Louise. Both men apparently tapped their brakes to make the other swerve and crash.
Ayon's Maxima plowed into the rear of a parked car, knocking it into a second parked car. Standing in between those parked vehicles were a 31-year-old mother and her two children, a five-year-old boy and a two-month-old baby girl. The little boy died as a result of his injuries, his mother and baby sister were critically injured. The mother's legs were crushed and one had to be amputated.
Ayon remained at the scene and was immediately taken into custody. The second suspect, Barnes, fled the scene, but later turned himself into police.
"The message is, when we get out in the public and we're driving, we really need to know what we're doing. An accident could destroy everything, and we're living proof of that," Aris said.
Bail for Barnes is set at $1,190,000 and $1,040,000 for Ayon.
The judge has extended the case and will announce a date for a hearing on Feb. 5.
