A teenage father was killed in a horrific head-on collision with a woman driving the wrong way on a major highway at 3 a.m. in California.
Shocking photos show the wrecked vehicles after the collision that claimed the lives of Thomas Ryder Shoup, 16, and Eileen Crawford, 67.
Shoup, known as Ryder Day, was described as “the sweetest kid” by family members, while Crawford had been receiving chemotherapy for cancer, according to friends.
The California Highway Patrol said Crawford’s Honda Civic was traveling the wrong way at 75 to 80 mph on Interstate 5 in Southern California on April 10.
He collided head-on with the Dodger Challenger driven by Ryder, a 10th grade student at Mar Vista Middle School who has a son named Marcelo.
Teenage dad Thomas Ryder Shoup was killed in a horrific head-on collision with a woman driving the wrong way on a major highway at 3am in California.
Shocking photographs show the vehicles destroyed after the collision that claimed the lives of Thomas Ryder Shoup, 16, and Eileen Crawford, 67.
The California Highway Patrol said Crawford’s Honda Civic was traveling the wrong way at 75 to 80 mph on Interstate 5 in Southern California on April 10.
The Dodge Challenger caught fire and quickly became completely engulfed in flames, and both drivers were trapped in their cars before dying at the scene, CHP said.
“Ryder was the sweetest little boy and touched the lives of everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him,” she says. fundraising for his family he reads.
“Ryder has been surrounded by so much love since the day he was born and could light up a room with his infectious smile.
“He was able to achieve a lot at just 16 years old and leaves behind his son Marcelo and his girlfriend Eliana, who meant the world to Ryder.”
The city of Imperial Beach, where Ryder lived, shared a statement remembering him as a popular teenager who was in the city’s junior lifeguard program.
‘His instructors knew him as a great boy who was well-liked. “Ryder was very athletic, competitive and always had a smile on his face,” officials said.
“When I found out, my heart dropped,” said Ryder’s friend Gilbert Solis.
‘He would always have a smile on that face on the field or on the bench. He would always have a big white smile on his face.
Shoup, known as Ryder Day, was described as “the sweetest kid” by family members on GoFundMe.
The crash site, on I-5 near the San Ysidro port of entry, is littered with debris and the two vehicles at the scene were almost completely destroyed.
It’s unclear how Crawford began traveling the wrong way on the freeway, but his car had been going in that direction for about six miles before the crash.
The CHP said concerned motorists had alerted them to the Honda traveling the wrong way, but the crash occurred just three minutes after the first 911 call.
Her neighbor Francisco Beltrán said she had been receiving radiation therapy for cancer and was sometimes forgetful.
“Sometimes she would go south, you know, with a blank mind and just walk away,” Beltran told NBC.
A toxicology report has not yet been released to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.