Friends Mourn Death of Jogger, 16, in Irvine

Rebecca Cambridge called her two close friends at 4:30 p.m. Monday to say she was on her way to meet them.

The three planned to jog that evening at Heritage Park in Irvine. Sama Khaliq and Sara Forouzan, who lived near Rebecca’s grandparents’ home on Bennington, waited half an hour before figuring she might be meeting them at the park.

They saw no sign of Rebecca -- until they came upon the scene of a traffic accident on Bryan Avenue near Eastwood that had left a jogger dead.

“We just knew it was her. Everything the [police told us] was pointing to her,” said Sara, 15, a sophomore at Northwood High School in Irvine. She said she and Sama, 15, broke down crying when a police officer showed them Rebecca’s yellow and green portable radio.

Police said Rebecca, 16, also a sophomore at Northwood, was hit and killed by a green Dodge Intrepid about 5 p.m.

Witnesses told police the victim was wearing headphones and cutting diagonally across Bryan when she was hit.

Paramedics and firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident remains under investigation, said Susan Meyer, a civilian traffic investigator for Irvine police. Police declined to name the driver, a 60-year-old woman from Mission Viejo.

Sara and Sama say Rebecca was very athletic and, during the summer, often went bike riding or inline skating with them. They say she was kind and generous.

Rebecca lived with her mother on Roosevelt but frequently visited her grandparents. She dubbed the trio the “Bennington Buddies.”

“When we needed to get our chores done before our parents came home, she’d come over and help,” said Sara, standing near a roadside memorial of flowers near the accident. “And she had a good attitude about it.”

Friends and acquaintances stopped by throughout the day to lay flowers at the memorial or just to reflect.

Rebecca would have made the honor roll this semester, said Northwood Principal Tony Ferruzzo.

A memorial of pictures donated by friends and notes written by students was set up at the school. Counselors visited classrooms or were available in the counseling office for grieving students.