Former Fresno City College baseball player from Reedley dies in crash. How to help family
Fresno City College baseball coach Ron Scott described Jason “JJ” Sanchez as a “great kid” whom coaches loved.
The Rams, Immanuel High and friends and family in the Reedley community are mourning the loss of Sanchez after he died in a car crash early Monday morning near Bakersfield.
The California Highway Patrol said the crash happened at 8 a.m., on southbound Highway 99, south of Highway 223 when Sanchez left the roadway in his 2010 Chevy Avalanche and hit a tree at a high rate of speed.
Sanchez was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital.
In a GoFundMe post, family said Sanchez’s brother, Ernesto, was injured in the crash.
Scott said Sanchez had a close relationship with late Rams assistant Sam Flores, who died in 2019.
“He was the first guy to practice and the last guy to leave,” Scott said of Sanchez. “He didn’t get to pitch a lot because he had a very significant injury (Tommy John surgery) out of Immanuel High School. He got our Mr. Ram (award). When someone dies, everyone says, ‘Boy, he was a great kid.’ But I’ll tell you what: This guy was a great kid. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
“He was a true, true pleasure to coach and as long as I’ve been coaching, I would say he was the most pleasurable guy I’ve ever coached. His enthusiasm was contagious. It’s really sad because Sammy Flores really recruited him hard. Hopefully they’re together now and talking. He and Sammy were very close. It was a real blow to a lot of us when we heard about it. We were having Christmas lunch when the news came. It was devastating to all of us.”
Sanchez was playing for Westcliff University in Irvine. The Warriors remembered Sanchez.
Sanchez’s former teammates and friends also remembered him with tributes on Twitter.
A GoFundMe account was set up to help the family with donations going towards funeral expenses.
