CROKETT, Calif. — A massive sideshow took a deadly turn Saturday on a freeway in the San Francisco Bay area, when a 16-year-old boy from Los Angeles fell to his death trying to watch the spectacle.
The teenager who died in the incident in the East Bay community of Crockett has been identified as Jose Cuevas, a resident of L.A.’s Harbor City and student at Narbonne High School.
It was 3:30 a.m. and the California Highway Patrol believes that Cuevas accidentally fell off the Pomona Street on-ramp to westbound I-80 after climbing over a concrete safety barrier near the Carquinez Bridge.
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The 75-foot fall proved to be fatal.
“And it’s just unfortunate, you know? And these takeovers are very dangerous events,” said Lila Noguera.
Lila Noguera’s son was close friends with Jose.
“He was definitely devastated. He’s never had a close friend pass. Very nice kid, and he had a good sense of humor, Always happy and adventurous and just so you know, at the same time, very respectful,” said Noguera.
Jose’s death marks the second major accident to happen at the Crockett intersection during a sideshow. A teen was critically injured falling at least 50 feet in the area in 2018.
“It’s important that we bring this to an end,” said Contra Costa County District 5 Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston.
Supervisor Scales-Preston previously helped bring a sideshow ordinance to the California city of Pittsburg. She’d like to do the same in Contra Costa County, one that would allow for charges or fines against participants and spectators.
For this specific area in Crockett, she’s aiming for a roundtable discussion with CHP, Caltrans, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, the DA and Public Works department on solutions.
“Some of the things that I’m interested in looking in is license plate readers, cameras in that area, as well as if there can be raised bumps or delineators,” said Scales-Preston.
All with a hope that what happened to Jose, won’t happen again.
“A typical teenage kid just trying to live life, but he had a good heart. He had a good heart,” said Noguera.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District released a statement about the student’s death, saying in part, “He will be greatly missed and will remain in the hearts and thoughts of his classmates, teachers and administrators.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends during this profoundly difficult time.”
The district says it’s providing crisis counselors for the students and staff at Narbonne High School.
A GoFundMe page has been created in memory of Jose to help with funeral expenses.
