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A family still
coping with the tragic death of their
daughter will now have to bury their
son.
Kyle Goodwin, 16,
died after being partially ejected from
his car at about 4:10 a.m. on Friday,
Jan. 2. According to the California
Highway Patrol, Goodwin lost control of
his 1999 Volvo S-80 while traveling too
fast around a curve. Recent rains had
made Mineral King Road slick near Three
Rivers. The car went off the road and
rolled down an embankment killing
Goodwin.
Goodwin was not wearing his seatbelt and
CHP officials are still investigating
whether or not alcohol was involved. The
CHP did not release the name of
Goodwin's passenger, a 16-year-old male
from Visalia. He was wearing his
seatbelt and was not injured.
Goodwin was driving on a provisional
license. The Department of Motor
Vehicles requires that anyone with a
provisional license must be accompanied
by someone 25 years or older for the
first six months if they drive between
midnight and 5 a.m. or if they are
transporting someone under the age of
20. There has been no comment about why
Kyle was driving so late at night.
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The accident comes
a little more than nine months after
Kyle's older sister, Casey, was killed
by a drunk driver near Kettleman City.
Casey, 20, was driving home from college
in San Luis Obispo for her mother's
birthday on March 12. At about 6:30 p.m.
The other driver, who was late to work
and had been drinking, was traveling 90
mph on Highway 41 when he swerved into
the opposite lane hitting Goodwin's car
head on. The cruel irony was that
Goodwin was actively involved in drug
and alcohol prevention activities both
at EUHS and at Cal Poly, San Luis
Obispo. Her mother, Lynn, is an alcohol
prevention specialist with Tulare
County.
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In April, a Hanford judge sentenced the
driver -- Fernando Ochoa, 18, of
Kettleman City -- to the maximum of 10
years in prison for gross vehicular
manslaughter in the collision that
killed Casey. In honor of Casey, a
former EUHS waterpolo player, her family
organized the first Casey LeeAnne
Goodwin Memorial Waterpolo Tournament on
Sept. 13 at the Exeter Union High School
pool.
The family said Kyle, and all of the
surviving children, "ached relentlessly
over the loss of Casey." In his obituary
the family says, "We can only survive
losing Kyle because we know that Casey
is holding him now, as she did in life."
Kyle is survived by his parents; a
sister, Kellie; a brother, Christopher;
grandparents, Frank and Louise Viola,
Dianna Thornsbrough, Anne and John
Baker, Reed and Doreen Goodwin.
Kyle was a sophomore at EUHS where he
lettered in waterpolo and swimming. He
was involved with the California Youth
Council and worked with California
Friday Night Live partnership with the
Tulare County Office of Education.
A Celebration of Life funeral services
for Kyle was held yesterday at the First
Assembly Church in Visalia. Remembrances
may be made to the Kyle Goodwin Memorial
Fund P.O. Box 601 Exeter, CA 93221.
On-line condolences may be made at
http://caseygoodwin.org.
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