Campolindo graduate Reed Whittaker’s car was hit by a drunk driver on December 12 in Livermore, killing Whittaker. According to The Contra Costa Times, the drunk driver was traveling west on I-580 when he failed to notice the flow of traffic slowing from 50 to 10 miles per hour. The driver hit Whittaker’s car and pushed it more than 100 feet, where it then struck 2 other cars and burst into flames.

The drunk driver was arrested and is facing charges. Whittaker was 29 years old and worked as an emergency medical technician.

A memorial service was held for Whittaker on Saturday, January 25 at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church.

Nathan Ward is the only teacher still at Campo who taught Whittaker during his senior year. Ward said the accident was a “horrible tragedy” and that the moral of the event is to not drink and drive. “You’ve got to think of the consequences,” he said.

A few weeks after the accident, Ward said he saw another Campolindo graduate he taught in the same class as Whittaker. Whittaker and the graduate had remained friends over the years beyond high school. According to Ward, he and the classmate talked about how unfortunate it was that Whittaker had fallen victim to a careless mistake by a stranger. Ward said the classmate was “pretty devastated and angry.”

A memorial fund created in Whittaker’s name has already raised almost 11 thousand dollars. One family wrote on the online memorial page that “Reed was one of the finest young men [they] have ever known. He touched the hearts and lives of all who knew him.”

Whittaker graduated from in 2003 and then attended the University of California Santa Barbara.

Whittaker was also an Eagle Scout of Troop 212.