MODESTO, Calif. — A vigil was held Friday to remember Christine Chavez, a woman who was killed in an accident involving a lawnmower at Beard Brook Park in Modesto.
"I lost my daughter and I feel a lot of pain about that,” said Cristobal Chavez.
The vigil honored the 27 year olds life, bringing her family together to mourn her.
Chavez’s family says she was unhoused, sleeping on the grass in a park when she was run over by a lawnmower.
"I'm still speechless. I'm still shocked that we're actually still standing again for the fifth day in a row in the same spot where Christine took her last breath,” said Dez Martinez, CEO & founder of We are not Invisible. “And yet it's still not cordoned off. It's not taped off. There's no one here to pick up the remaining parts that are still here."
The Modesto Police Department says the accident happened around noon Saturday. Martinez says it’s a time of day that should be safest for someone in Chavez’s position.
“We have to stay up all night because it's dangerous to sleep at night. You might be raped, stabbed, murdered,” she said. “When the daytime comes, it's time to go to sleep, it's broad daylight, there's a lot of traffic, a lot of people, what's going to happen to me?"
Sharon Bear, spokesperson for Modesto Police Department, says the accident happened around noon Saturday while a Grover Landscape Services employee was cutting the grass. He was using a riding John Deere tractor with a pull-behind mower.
Bear says the employee saw a body in an area he had already passed through and called 911.
Grover Landscape Services Inc. provided the following statement on the accident.
“At approximately noon on July 8, 2023, a Grover landscaping crew member, operating a tractor and pull-behind mower, was performing weed abatement and fire prevention services for our customer E. & J. Gallo Winery. In a dry, overgrown area, our operator discovered the body of a woman impacted by the pull-behind mower, at which time he contacted the Modesto Police Department. Grover is cooperating with law enforcement officials in their investigation. Out of respect for the on-going investigation, we cannot speculate as to the cause of or circumstances surrounding her death."
"We are deeply saddened by these events. Our hearts and sympathies go out to her friends and family. Grover is providing counseling services to the operator due to this traumatic experience.”
Chavez’s father says more should be done about his daughters death.
“They didn't pick up everything. they left parts of the body there,” he said. “Justice, I'm asking for justice."
Police say investigation into the incident is complete and it appears to have been an accident. No charges have been filed at this time.
Beard Brook Park was formerly city property, but was transferred to new owner E. & J. Gallo Winery Friday. City officials say they are cooperating with the investigation.
