Family of teen killed in DUI crash near Balboa Fun Zone mark somber anniversary

Los Angeles Times

4 days ago

Memorial Day weekend — a time for poignant reflection on loss, duty and sacrifice — is something Fillmore Smiley will never forget.
That's when his 14-year-old daughter, Rosenda Elizabeth Smiley, was struck and killed in a crosswalk by a drunk driver while visiting the Balboa Fun Zone in Newport Beach with a group of teen friends on May 25, 2024.
Rose, as her family calls her, had come to Orange County that Saturday afternoon from Smiley's house roughly 20 miles away from Big Bear Lake, a last-minute edit to an earlier plan that would have kept her in Lake Arrowhead Village, closer to home.
She was walking with two girlfriends in a crosswalk at the crowded intersection of Balboa Boulevard and Palm Street, after a motorist waved for them to cross, when 30-year-old Fontana resident Joseph Alcaraz allegedly cut through a right-hand turn lane in an attempt to drive through the intersection.
The teen was killed, while a friend's foot was run over by Alcazar's sedan. The driver's 8-year-old daughter was in the vehicle with him, along with an adult male friend in the passenger's seat. The driver had a blood alcohol level of .16 — twice the legal driving limit — and two prior DUI convictions.
Smiley, who had stayed home that day, knew something was strange when Rose hadn't returned a message on Snapchat in her usual speedy fashion. Then a call came in from her cellphone, followed by an immediate hangup. A few seconds later, a friend of Rose's called with the news.
'She said, 'Rose is dead, I'm not even kidding.' Then an officer got on the phone,' he recalled in an interview Thursday. 'For just a moment, the world stood still. I remember thinking nothing would ever be the same again.'
And if the 56-year-old father of two has his way, nothing will be the same again on the streets of Newport Beach.
With support from his ex-wife Glori, Rose's mom, and his longtime partner Lori, Smiley has been lobbying city officials to implement safety measures to make conditions around Balboa Peninsula safer for pedestrians and protect against future drunk drivers.
He's met with Newport Beach officials about placing elevated and blinking crosswalks at certain heavily trafficked intersections and possibly implementing portions of a 'Vision Zero' policy adopted in Sweden in the 1990s that cut traffic-related deaths in half. So far, his pleas are landing on deaf ears, he said, but that won't stop Smiley and his family.
'If I can't get Newport Beach to work with me and do the right thing, maybe I can do something at the state level and get some things implemented,' Smiley said. 'I'm going to keep at it — either there will be safer streets in Newport Beach or I'll be dead.'
The same core group has also been pressing legislators in Orange and San Bernardino counties to introduce 'Rosenda's Law,' a bill that would impose tougher penalties for repeat DUI offenders and even passengers who knowingly get in a car with a drunk driver.
A recovering addict with 21 years of sobriety, Smiley got a business degree from USC, went on to earn his master's in forensic psychology and a doctorate in clinical psychology. Today he counsels others trying to overcome addiction.
In that role, he's seen addicts rack up DUIs, then have them expunged over time, only to go out and reoffend years later. He's heard every excuse in the book and believes imposing jail time can force people to contemplate, and then actually begin the recovery process.
'Rosenda's Law' suggests treatment for initial offenders and mandatory drug court for a second DUI. A third conviction would incur a 16-month minimum sentence and a fourth offense would call for five to 10 years. Anything after that would come with a life sentence.
'What we need is research-supported intervention, and the research shows that forced treatment works,' Smiley reasoned. 'And drug court works — it not only saves lives, it saves money.'
Under the proposal, passengers could also be charged with a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge that would be erased after a series of educational classes, what Smiley calls a 'diversion approach' that would prohibit people from making the same mistake twice.
So far, Smiley has reached out to legislators but few, besides Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), seem motivated to act. On Tuesday, Smiley traveled to Sacramento, where the state Assembly declared May 25, 2025 'Rosenda's Day,' via a resolution introduced by Lackey.
In the past year, Rose's family members and friends, clad in pink T-shirts, bearing a rose and a picture of the teen with the words 'JusticeForRose,' have packed every courtroom hearing ahead of Alcazar's impending trial for murder, felony DUI and child endangerment.
JusticeFor Rose is also a Facebook page that provides updates on advocacy efforts and memorializes the teen's clever wit, infectious laugh and compassion for others.
Having raised the funds for memorial benches and plaques in Newport Beach and spots special to Rose and those she loved, Smiley has formed the group 'Rosenda's Gift' to help the families of other victims secure similar remembrances.
'There are all these families out there, and memorials are cathartic for people,' he said. 'My daughter lost maybe 70 years of life, so the thought of her name not being spoken and people forgetting her saddens me deeply.'
During a one-year commemoration of Rose's death last Sunday, the teen's family and friends held a candlelight vigil near the spot where a shrine stood for 11 months before the city of Newport Beach removed it.
There, Glori Smiley shared how her daughter's killer partied on the beach with family members who likely knew of his past run-ins with reckless, drunken driving, yet did nothing to stop him from getting into a car that fateful evening.
'If even one person in that group had taken the keys, called him a ride or spoken up we, would not be here mourning the loss of a beautiful life,' she said.
'I made her a promise that night that something good would come from this heartbreak. That promise lives on in our commitment to advocate for change in how we educate and treat DUI offenders. It's the only way to ensure no other family has to endure this unbearable, unimaginable and utterly preventable pain.'
Eric Licas contributed to this report.