Family calls for pedestrian safety after Fresno man in wheelchair hit and killed by car

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Carlos Rodriguez is on a mission to create change.

It's been one week since his brother, Ronnie Rodriguez, was hit and killed on a portion of Brawley near McKinley in Fresno.

According to police, Ronnie was traveling in his wheelchair on the shoulder of the road when a vehicle hit him from behind.

Candles now stand where his life was taken.

"I'm asking for a minimum of four feet from the white line. I feel that is not excessive," Carlos says.

There are no sidewalks in the area, so Carlos says his brother had no choice but to ride in the street.

Fresno City councilmember and president Miguel Arias - who represents this area - says he agrees and thinks the city should go further, not just adding a shoulder, but a sidewalk.

Currently, he's trying to determine if the city has jurisdiction over the area.

"If we do, then we will find the resources to build a sidewalk, so this doesn't happen to another person," Arias says.

According to Arias, parts of this neighborhood were annexed into the city after some areas became urbanized.

That has created a complex patchwork of land ownership, with some roads controlled by the city and others by the county.

If the city doesn't control the space, then fixing the area could be more difficult.

"The county doesn't build sidewalks, so they would leave it that way until the city annexes the area or until a developer builds a new development," says Arias.

Carlos says that those issues should come second to safety. He urges both sides to come together and help his community.

"It isn't the city or the county, it's the community, we are all a community and there should not be that divide."

Arias says that in the past, the city and county have worked together to install temporary asphalt sidewalks in similar areas.

That could also be a temporary fix here.