Teen killed on way to school remembered

RIO RANCHO (KRQE) - Rio Rancho police have identified the teen killed in a Thursday morning crash near Cleveland High School as the son of one of their officers.

Adrian Garcia Jr., 16, died at the scene on Paseo del Volcán when his Toyota Tercel crossed into oncoming traffic at about 7 a.m. and was struck head-on by a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.

They impact was so intense the truck went through the windshield of the car and pushed the steering column almost into the driver's seat.

A Chevrolet Impala trying to avoid the collision grazed the pickup, but its occupants were not injured, police said.

The driver of the pickup, Beverly Maez, 36, of Rio Rancho, and her 6-year-old daughter were taken to University of New Mexico Hospital with injuries police said were not life-threatening.

Garcia, a sophomore at Cleveland, was southbound on Paseo del Volcán and apparently tried to pass another vehicle when the crash happened about three miles northeast of the school.

Later reports said police are still investigating why Garcia was in the wrong lane.

Police said he and the mother and daughter in the pickup all were wearing their seatbelts.

By midafternoon friends had place a memorial a the site including flowers, a teddy bear and candy bars that Garcia liked to sell to his classmates.

They prayed for and honored their fallen friend.

"Adrian was a very caring person," Cleveland freshman Thalia Martinez said. "It was anything for his community and anything he could do to help everybody around him."

"I don't know how he did it, but he was always in a good mood," added freshman Colton Taylor. "He always just had a smile on his face."

"One minute he could get on my nerves, but then he could say something funny and I'd start laughing," a sophomore named Mercedes said. "He's just really good, and I'm going to miss him."

Garcia was a popular student at Cleveland and played on the junior-varsity football team.

"He's a very popular young man, athlete, most recently played on the JV football team," Cleveland principal Scott Affentranger told KRQE news 13. "I know he had a lot of friends based on the outpouring of support today"

"He was the type of player that did his job, whatever that was, whether it was kickoff, comeback, receiver," added JV football coach Robert Garza. "He was the kind of kid who did whatever you needed him to do."

Paseo del Volcán between Iris Road and U.S. Highway 550 was closed for about five hours during the investigation.

The speed limit on the street is 55 mph, so it is very possible the combined speed of the cars was well over 100 mph.

A district spokeswoman says grief counselors are at the school.

Rio Rancho officers have set up a memorial fund to assist Garcia's family with expenses related to his death and services.  Donations to the "Adrian Garcia Jr. Memorial Fund" at Wells Fargo Bank branches.