ALEX TSUJI

The Tragic, Preventable Death of Alex Tsuji, Age 2: Murdered by an Illegal Alien
By Lyn Tsuji

On November 18, 2006, our life as we knew it came suddenly and tragically to an end.
I am writing for my son Alex Tsuji, who was born on May 20, 2004 and who died on December 6, 2006. Our car was hit by a drunk driver, Maricio Salazar, if this is his true name. He had a .26 blood alcohol content, three times the legal limit. Mr. Salazar was an illegal immigrant with no insurance or driver’s license. He was drinking and driving when he ran a red light, slammed into our minivan, and put Alex, our 2 ½ year old son, on life support for 19 days. We were shopping for Thanksgiving, and we wanted to buy video games to have an all night video game marathon with the kids. Everyone was very happy that day. Alex picked out his first video game with glee. And he spoke his first complete sentence, “Open for me, mama.”
On the first day at the hospital, the doctors said Alex could not be saved. We prayed for a miracle for 19 days; and we fought to undo what Mr. Salazar had done to him. But doctors, in the US and in Japan, my husband’s native country, confirmed our son was not viable. Alex’s spinal cord was completely transected, and he had a severe brain injury. Alex was in a coma and his body could no longer regulate his breathing or any other bodily function; it was a matter of time and how much suffering, we could not know. No doctor or medical technology could be found to save him. In the end, we, his parents, had to name the date and time of Alex’s death.
We begged every day for God to make our life whole and right again.
Alex is a memory now.
We will never see or hold our son again.
Everyday we miss the sound of his laughter and the mischievous smile on his face, the pitter and patter of his feet, a bit too large for his age.
We miss his joy over a little ladybug or a fluttering butterfly.
We miss his absolute love, his trust that we would keep his little world safe.
A child’s love is given wholeheartedly.
We will never see him grow and become his own person.
We are lonely and the days are long without Alex.
Mr. Salazar has taken away a son and a brother.
On that night, the crash should have never happened. There is no justification. The laws set in place failed us. Mr. Salazar broke American laws in how he came to this country. Mr. Salazar broke American laws in operating a vehicle without a license and without insurance. He also broke American laws in driving drunk and in killing my child. His choices devastated and destroyed our family life.
It took away our security.
It destroyed us financially and emotionally.
We will suffer the loss of our son for the rest of our lives…

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=1095200