Publication Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Healing and heartbreak on Miranda Avenue
Healing and heartbreak on Miranda Avenue
(May 12, 2004) Residents on street of hit-and-run return to normalcy as Megan Coughran is released from jail
by Alexandria Rocha
Burning candles can still be found flickering at the roadside memorial where 6-year-old Amy Malzbender was killed in a hit-and-run accident nearly 16 months ago on Miranda Avenue.
Neighbors, though divided, have discussed replacing the teddy bears and angel ornaments dangling from the chain link fence at the scene of the accident with a more permanent memorial. On Jan. 28, 2003, Amy was riding her bike to Nixon Elementary School with her father, Tom; 8-year-old brother, Joey; and childhood friend, Chloe, when she was struck and killed by a car driven by Megan Coughran, 19 and then a Palo Alto High School senior.
Chloe was injured in the crash as well.
"The tragedy that happened is a part of us all," said Jackie Berman, who has lived on nearby Miranda Green for 34 years. "We've adjusted to the reality and we try to look out for each other and promote safe behavior, but I don't think any of us will forget what happened," added Berman, who works from home as an education consultant.
Coughran, who pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges in a Palo Alto courtroom last September, was released from the Elmwood Correctional Facility for Women in Milpitas on Monday. She served nearly nine months of a one-year sentence. It remained unknown whether she would return to live with her parents, Bill and Bridget Coughran, in their Arroyo-Court home.
The Coughrans declined to comment Monday. Mark Cursi, a spokesman for the county Department of Corrections, said Coughran was most likely released early with good behavior credits.
Though more than a year has passed, Don Nielson, president of the Miranda Neighborhood Association said the community's residents will never forget the accident.
Tom Watzka, a Miranda Green resident of 11 years, said his family feels empathy for both sides.
"Most residents are unwilling to take a position on it," Watzka said. "We know both families."
Neither Amy's parents, Tom Malzbender and Debbie Melmon, or Chloe's mother, Carol Ann McAusland, could be reached for comment Monday.
Over the summer, much of Miranda Avenue will be completely repaved and reconstructed. On the side of the road where the crash occurred, a 6-foot-wide pathway will be built as a safe route for bikers and walkers.
"The residents requested the pathway due to the accident last year," said Woojae Kim, public works engineer.
The work is scheduled to start in mid-July and finish in September.
The neighborhood will also decide how it wants to memorialize the site of the crash. During construction, the current memorial will likely have to be moved away from the construction, Kim said.
Though Watzka said he would be in favor of a small permanent memorial for the victims, other neighbors weren't so sure.
"You live in a neighborhood and you say, I don't want this, and you just create bad feelings," said Jo Richards, a retired office worker who has lived on Miranda Avenue for 40 years.
Staff writer Alexandria Rocha can be e-mailed at arocha@paweekly.com
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
