Services Set for Player Killed in Crash

A funeral service for a Sylmar High baseball player who died in an automobile accident has been scheduled for 10:30 this morning at St. Ferdinand’s Catholic Church in San Fernando.

Ryan Vela, 17, a senior right fielder, died when the car in which he was a passenger was struck by a police car on Laurel Canyon Boulevard early Saturday morning, according to police.

Sylmar postponed Valley Pac-8 Conference games scheduled for Monday and Wednesday against Monroe and tentatively had rescheduled one of those games for today. But Sylmar Coach Gary Donatella said that both games have been postponed indefinitely and will not be played until after the spring break, which begins next Friday.

The team and the Sylmar Baseball Alumni Assn. each contributed $250 to the Vela family, and the Spartans will sew No. 17 onto their uniform sleeves in memory of Vela.

The driver of the car, a 17-year-old Sylmar boy, was arrested on suspicion of felony manslaughter and released to his parents. It appears unlikely that charges will be filed against him, police said. A blood-alcohol test on the teen-aged driver proved negative.