Obituaries
Missing Marin Academy Grad Found Dead On LA Freeway On-Ramp
The 19-year-old who disappeared from a USC party, triggering a frantic search, was found in the road after apparently being struck by a car.
City News Service:
A 19-year-old UC Berkeley soccer player who disappeared after attending a USC fraternity party was found dead on the eastbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway about a mile from the campus, roughly one hour after he disappeared, police said today.
Eloi Vasquez grew up in San Rafael and attended Marin Academy, news reports stated.
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Vasquez disappeared about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, telling friends he was taking a walk and wanted to go to the beach, authorities said. His disappearance led to a wide-scale search, with his family offering a $100,000 reward for information on his whereabouts.
By mid-afternoon, however, police confirmed that a person who had been struck and killed by a car on the 10 Freeway around 2:25 a.m. Saturday was Vasquez.
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A California Highway Patrol officer told City News Service early Saturday morning that the then-unidentified person was struck by a Chevrolet Impala while walking on the freeway. It wasn’t until today that the person was identified.
According to the CHP, it was unclear why Vasquez was on the freeway, but he was running across eastbound lanes of traffic east of Vermont Avenue when he was hit. He ran in front of the Impala being driven at roughly 60 mph by Martina M. Reyes, 45, of Highland Park, according to the CHP.
Police said Vasquez attended a party in the 600 block of West 28th Street after traveling with friends from Northern California for spring break.
One of his friends told NBC4 that Vasquez called her around 2:15 a.m., and Vasquez said he was lost and scared.
Members of his family, including his mother, Wendy Margolin, drove to Los Angeles Sunday to meet with police and take part in the search.
“It’s very out of the ordinary, he’s a top athlete, a soccer player at Cal,” Margolin told ABC7 earlier. “He’s very responsible, it’s very unusual. That’s why we drove all the way here.”
His mother said the young man did not have any money or ID on him.
Interim UC Berkeley athletic director Mike Williams called Vasquez “a wonderful young man.”
“This is a tremendous loss for our men’s soccer program, our athletic department and our whole university community,” he said. “It is a tragedy that such a promising life was taken so soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Eloi’s family, friends, teammates and coaches during this difficult time.”
Cal Athletics posted on their Facebook page about the loss of Vasquez:
“Today we lost a beloved member of the #CalFamily, Eloi Vasquez. We are absolutely devastated at this loss and send our thoughts & prayers to his family & friends.”
Photo courtesy Cal Athletics Facebook page
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