Austin

The memorial is in the distance

A week before Covid shut down the world in March of 2020, a small tragedy hit here in Ventura. The high school cross country team was out for a run after school. While they were running down Seaward Avenue toward the beach when a truck lost control, striking one of the runners and killing him.

The runner's name was Austin, and he was a 10th grader. I was coming home later that day, and the road was closed. I could see the lights of the police cars and ambulance, but didn't think anything of it at the time beyond someone had an accident.

I received a phone call from a friend later asking if I had heard about the kid being struck, and did I know him. My son had run cross country but had graduated before this kid got to high school. My youngest was a year behind Austin and knew who he was but didn't know him. 

When my son ran cross country, it was not unusual to see him and his fellow runners running down the various streets here in Ventura. Going from the high school down Seaward was a standard run, and once in a while I would see my son and his teammates running down the sidewalk. It's downhill to the beach, and the team would get there and then run the Promenade. Though my son was never a Varsity runner, Ventura XC did instill a sense of pride and love for running, and even now, as a member of the Marine Corps, he still runs beyond what would be normal PT. I felt bad for Austin's family, of course, but also for Austin's teammates and especially for Austin's Coaches. The Cross Country Coaches were great with my son, who was essentially a space taker on a team that would win state, making him feel wanted and important. How horrible it would be for a coach to send kids out running and then have one not make it back.

I guess I could look, but if I recall, drugs and alcohol were not a factor. The truck that struck Austin lost  control, jumped the curb and hit the runner. It was an accident.

Ventura is a small town, and we knew people who knew him and the family. A roadside shrine went up on the chain link fence where the accident happened, and was maintained all through the lock down. Recently a cap and gown was added to the memorial.

Austin would have graduated this year. He was by all accounts a good kid, active in his church and a Ventura County Sheriff's Office Explorer Scout. 

If Covid had shut down the world a week earlier, Austin would have been able to graduate with his class.