He was his parents' pride and joy. Now the family struggles to cope with his death
Abel Lopez was the only boy in his family and the youngest of three siblings.
According to cousins who spoke to The Bee about him Sunday, the "baby of the family" was the pride and joy of his parents, who had always dreamed of raising a boy.
The family is struggling to cope with loss after Lopez, 17, was killed Friday in a car accident near Kerman. The California Highway Patrol said Lopez was driving a 2014 Nissan Sentra east on Jensen Avenue near Trinity Avenue when he ran into the rear of a John Deere tractor hauling a cultivator.
The accident sent the Sentra into a vineyard not far from the collision, the CHP said. The driver of the tractor, a 55-year-old man, was not injured.
The CHP said Lopez was driving at 55 mph, just about the speed limit. The CHP is still investigating the crash and said drugs or alcohol were not a factor. Speaking with ABC-30 the night of the crash, CHP Sgt. Edward Jacobs spoke of distracted driving as a possible cause of the crash.
When asked about that claim, Abel's family on Sunday said they still did not know what caused the accident.
The crash that took Lopez's life turned his family's world upside down, according to a distant cousin who did not want to be identified. She said Lopez's death has brought grief and pain to the mother and father, both farmers.
Monse Lopez, a cousin of Abel Lopez, said she and Abel were "really really close." She said it was rare when Abel didn't have time for fun or didn't want to go out. The two had gone to school together since kindergarten and were taking two classes together at Kerman High School this year.
Monse Lopez was set to walk next to Abel at graduation. It was a promise the two had made to each other as kids. Years went by and they never spoke about their graduation plans again. When senior year arrived, they reminded each other that on June 7 they would walk together to receive their high school diplomas.
Now, Monse Lopez will carry a picture frame of her cousin at graduation. He will be there in spirit. She said a cap and gown will be placed on a chair at the graduation ceremony and there will be a moment of silence for the teen who had a radiant smile, according to his cousins.
A vigil planned for Sunday night was expected to turn out family and friends to remember Abel Lopez. A procession will take mourners from St. Patrick's Catholic Church to the Kerman High football field. Funeral services have not been scheduled, according to Monse Lopez.
The crash that killed Abel happened just hours after Monse Lopez dropped him off at his parents' house southwest of Kerman around 4 p.m. She said the school had taken the senior class on a high school graduation trip to Magic Mountain the day before and arrived back Friday.
That night, Abel Lopez had plans to take his girlfriend to a 7 p.m. sold out Shoreline Mafia concert at Strummer's in Fresno. Monse Lopez said Abel was on his way to pick up some money from his older sister, who asked not to be named but allowed Monse to share the information with The Bee. The siblings were expected to meet halfway between Kerman and the parents' home.
Monse said Abel and his older sister never got to meet up and about six calls to Abel from his older sister were never picked up. On her way to her parent's house, Abel's older sister noticed a car accident and hoped it wasn't anyone she knew. But Monse said the hints were there: Abel was not responding to calls or texts, the crash was along the route to his parent's nearby home and the car looked familiar.
The search continued when Abel's older sister picked up her worried parents, whose calls and texts to Abel also went unanswered. Monse said Abel's girlfriend had also tried getting in touch with him and she asked her friends to reach out. But still, there was no response.
Abel's mom called his girlfriend to ask if they were together. The girlfriend said she couldn't reach Abel and that she had used the "find my iPhone" app to locate Abel.
The iPhone was tracked back to the crash site the sister had initially seen. When Abel's family arrived there, they were not allowed to get close, according to Monse Lopez. But the CHP later confirmed Abel had been killed in the crash, reported just before 7 p.m. Friday.
Monse Lopez said Abel had always lived life to the fullest. Though nothing was set in stone, he "always had something on his mind" about what to do after graduation, like either joining the Navy or getting into the trucking business, she said. His favorite hobby as a kid was riding motorcycles, Monse Lopez said, and he loved to drive cars.
His dream car was the Subaru Impreza WRX STI. "That car was his main goal in life," Monse Lopez said. "Whenever he would see that car in the street it was crazy. He slowed down to check out the car."
Abel was a picky eater, according to his cousin. And if there was one thing he cared about most, it was looking after his cousins and caring for his family. According to his cousins, Abel comes from a tight-knit family. And like his father, Monse Lopez said, Abel was always happy and never angry.
"I never saw him be disrespectful," Monse Lopez said. "Always with a smile on his face."
This story was originally published June 3, 2018 at 11:51 AM with the headline "He was his parents' pride and joy. Now the family struggles to cope with his death."