SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The community is mourning, following the death of a Santa Clara University student who was killed on his way to class on Thursday.
Funeral arrangements are being made for the deceased, who is identified as 18-year-old Kephas Pope.
The boy was hit by a car near the university campus at El Camino Real and Accolti Way shortly before he arrived. It happened on the second to last day of classes before students left for Thanksgiving break.
“When officers arrived, they found a male pedestrian on the ground with visible injuries,” Santa Clara police said in a news release. The teenager was rushed to the hospital. “But the sad thing is that he died from the injuries he sustained and passed away,” said the police.
They said the driver remained there and was cooperating with investigators. No drugs or alcohol were suspected in the collision.
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The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office said it appears Pope was a San Jose resident.
He was a sophomore at Santa Clara University, where his sister is a student and where his father also attended school.
The boy was remembered as a bright young man with a warm spirit and a great sense of humor.
A GoFundMe was started to help the family with the funeral expenses, which his father said would be held on December 2nd in Sanger, Fresno County.
“Everyone is welcome and everyone’s presence will comfort me,” the boy’s father, Nathan Pope shared, announcing the memorial service.
On GoFundMe, a friend of the family shared their grief at the loss and paid tribute to the young man.
“Kephas brought so much joy, warmth, and laughter to us,” the Zhang family wrote. “He was smart, kind, funny and an innocent soul who felt like another son and brother to us. We love him dearly and will always cherish his memory.”