Update: San Jose State students, teammates gather to remember Camdan McWright
SAN JOSE -- Students and friends on Friday marched to the intersection where their friend and teammate died after being hit by a bus while riding a scooter early that morning.
Camdan McWright, a San Jose State freshman football player, was killed Friday morning when his electric scooter collided with a school bus just blocks from campus.
The university confirmed the 18-year-old's identity hours after he died in the 6:51 a.m. collision near South 10th and Reed streets.
The accident occurred as the team was preparing for a trip to take on New Mexico State on Saturday. The 6-1 running back from Sylmar saw his first action last week against UNLV, picking up 6 yards on 3 carries.
The game has since been postponed.
"We wanted to do what was in the best interest of our student-athletes," said SJSU Director of Athletics Jeff Konya. "We spent a lot of time with them as they try to process this tragedy. At the end of the day we felt it was in the best interest to postpone that game and support the student athletes in other ways."
"We lost an amazing young man tragically this morning," said SJSU football head coach Brent Brennan. "Camdan had a bright future ahead of him and everyone in this community that had the opportunity to spend time with him knew that. We are still trying to deal with the news of this tragedy, and appreciate everyone's support during these difficult times."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the McWright family and I want them to know we are all here for them. Camdan will always be in our hearts and he will be profoundly missed."
McWright suffered fatal injuries in collision and was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The loss of our student is heartbreaking and devastating for our San José State community," said SJSU President Steve Perez. "We grieve for Camdan, his family, friends, teammates, and the Spartan family. We grieve together and will provide all of the support that Camdan's family, our students and our football program require to help move through this tragic time."
Students and teammates lit candles and gathered to support each other at the scene of the deadly crash.
It was an emotional scene at the candlelight vigil.
As McWright's teammates and friends shared memories of the running back. They all said that he made a big impact both on and off the field.
"I love cam so much. Everything he's done, everything he did for this program. He means the world to everybody," said one teammate.
"Cam to me was just a guy that I can go to about anything," said a second teammate.
"Unbelievable character. I couldn't even describe the type of person he was," said his roommate, who also plays on the sjsu football team. "As a football team, we gonna be alright. Just know that. We gonna bounce back for sure. He gonna live in us forever."
McWright was traveling south on 10th Street on a Lime electric scooter and entered the intersection at the east crosswalk, traveling directly into the path of an oncoming school bus.
A surveillance video obtained by KPIX showed the crash happened at 6:50 a.m. when it was still dark.
In the video, McWright is seen coming to a full stop at the intersection. He waited for a couple of cars to pass before entering the intersection. Once he reached the middle of the intersection, video showed a yellow San Jose Unified School District bus running him over. The footage shows the bus had a green light.
The San Jose Unified School District bus was carrying 14 students ranging in ages from 14 to 17 years old at the time of the collision.
The students were escorted onto a second bus and taken from the scene. No one on the bus was injured. Alcohol and/or drug intoxication were not believed to be a factor in the crash.
Investigators say the 36-year-old female bus driver stopped at the scene and cooperated with officers. The CHP investigates all crashes involving school buses.
"I just can't imagine my life without him. We would talk at least twice a day," said Tina McWright, Camdan's mother.
She was crying and still in shock when she spoke to KPIX from her home in Sylmar in Los Angeles County.
"We just love him so much, such a terrible loss. We just want to be with him and all he ever wanted to do was be with us," McWright said.
She said he was on his way to the football stadium when he died. The team was supposed to meet at the stadium to go over their game plan and fly to New Mexico to play against New Mexico State on Saturday.
"He didn't have any AirPods in his ears, I know that for a fact. His had broken. We were going to send him a new pair for Christmas," McWright added.
San Jose State gave the freshman running back a full football scholarship.
His mother said the 18-year-old had played football since he was 4 years old. Last year, he was a captain of his high school team, St. Genevieve High, where his family said he earned a 4.0 GPA, putting him on the honor roll.
"He always helped the elderly. Was always kind, patient, understanding and talked well," Tina McWright said.
Camdan's father Cleve McWright recounted a final communication with his son.
"Yesterday, I texted him and I said 'Son, I always believed in you and knew you could do it.' I said, 'Do you believe?' and he said 'Yes, I did, Dad. And thank you so much and I love you and thank you for believing in me.' And I sent a heart (emoji) back," McWright said.
Down south in the San Fernando Valley, McWright's high school honored him. On Friday night, his former teammates played through their pain.
Friend and former teammate William Parra brought McWright's jersey to the game.
"This is the jersey he wore all through high school. If he was here with me on the sideline, he'd want me to keep pushing and lead our team to victory," Parra said.
Camdan McWright is survived by his mother, father and two older siblings. They will up fly up from Southern California on Saturday.
KPIX correspondent Da Lin contributed to this report