Scholarship Fund Honors Crash Victim

Tustin High School has established a scholarship fund in memory of Ryan Watanabe, a junior honors student who was killed recently in a traffic accident.

Watanabe, 17, stopped on the freeway to survey a fender-bender when another motorist rammed his car and sent him plummeting about 50 feet into a parking lot below.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to an outstanding senior scholar-athlete at Tustin High to help pay college expenses, Principal Bob Boies said.

Watanabe carried a 4.5 grade-point average while playing on the junior varsity basketball squad and serving as a member of the Model United Nations team.

He was also a three-time recipient of Tustin High’s Scholar Athlete Award, given annually to four students who show high levels of academic and athletic achievement.

“Ryan was one of our outstanding students,” Boies said. “I have known him since he was a sixth-grader. It is a tragic loss for the family, school and community.”

Contributions may be sent to the Ryan Watanabe Memorial Scholarship Fund at Tustin High School, 1171 El Camino Real, Tustin 92680. All donations will be matched by grants from the Irvine Co., officials said.

Information: (714) 730-7414.