Counselors and district staff – including Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss – made personal visits to each first-period classroom at San Marino High School this morning to inform students of the death of Brendan Leon, a junior, who died in a single-car accident near the Rose Bowl early Sunday morning. Teachers were also instructed to bring students who were showing signs of distress directly to the counseling center. Mid-morning, Johnson reported that a few had arrived seeking assistance.
Brendan’s 2002 Mercedes Benz crashed into a rock structure supporting a street light at the southwest corner of the Rose Bowl loop. Thick skid marks, extending approximately 200 feet, can be seen leading to the pole.
Last night, more than a hundred students – mostly members of the Titan football team – gathered in the back yard of a local home to grieve and try to process the tragedy. Head football Coach Mike Hobbie canceled this morning’s weightlifting session and led another 40-minute discussion. Brendan was a reserve defensive back and running back for the Rio Hondo League and CIF champions and trained with the school’s track team during the off-season.
“It’s very difficult for young people to come to terms with something as terrible as this,” Hobbie said.
Plans for a memorial service are pending. Please check sanmarinotribune.com for more information as it becomes available.
