Coach Wounds Pitcher, Then Kills Himself

A youth league coach, apparently in a rage, shot and critically wounded his 16-year-old star pitcher after she jumped from his pickup and then killed himself, deputies and the girl’s father said Wednesday.

Motorists, including a Placer County sheriff’s deputy, witnessed the shootings Tuesday evening on Interstate 80. They said they stopped to help the girl at the roadside, then saw the pickup return, the driver walk over to the group, pull out a large-caliber handgun, shoot the girl and then himself.

A spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Department identified the dead man as Jesse Aguilar, 42, of North Highlands. The girl, identified by her father as Suzanne Jacobs of North Highlands, was in critical but stable condition at University Medical Center.

Roger Jacobs said his daughter, coached by Aguilar, had played softball for six years. He said Aguilar picked up his daughter at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to go to a game.

Jacobs said that his daughter had no social life except for her softball team and her coach and his family but that this summer had gotten a job and acquired a new girlfriend.

Jacobs said that Aguilar was obsessed with his daughter but that he was convinced there was nothing sexual and said he trusted Aguilar. But he said Aguilar had been following his daughter around for the last few days and had tried to obtain the address of her new friend.

Davis said deputies were waiting for the girl to regain consciousness to talk to her to discover a motive for the shooting.

Witnesses told deputies that the pickup was traveling at 55 m.p.h. in the right eastbound lane when the girl jumped out.