Car crash kills former Estancia High football player Gabriel Carpio, 24
Gabriel Carpio, a 24-year-old graduate of Estancia High School in Costa Mesa who was fondly known to his Eagles football teammates as “Badfish,” was killed in a car crash early Saturday.
Carpio, a Tustin resident, was driving a Mini Cooper south on the 5 Freeway near Santa Ana Boulevard just before 4 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the center divider, according to the California Highway Patrol.
It remains unclear what caused Carpio to lose control of the car. It was struck by a Ford van and then a Honda Pilot, according to the CHP. The drivers of those vehicles were unhurt, but Carpio was fatally injured, CHP officials said.
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When Estancia High football Coach Mike Bargas learned of Carpio’s death over the weekend, he took to social media to express his sorrow.
Bargas said he remembers when Carpio joined the football team as a skinny sophomore with long hair. By the end of his time as an Eagles defensive end, Carpio was 6 feet 4 and about 220 pounds. He graduated from Estancia in 2012.
He was beloved on and off the field, Bargas said.
“He worked his butt off and ended up becoming a starter for us,” he said. “He blossomed into a pretty good football player.”
In 2011, Carpio was a varsity starter in what Bargas calls “a fairytale season” as the Eagles made it to the CIF Southern Section Southern Division semifinals. The team eventually fell to Beckman High.
Carpio’s Facebook page indicates he was studying at Santa Ana College.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” Bargas said of Carpio’s death. “You hope your kids, your football players outlive you. It just tugs at your heartstrings that you don’t get to see this guy come back with his family and his kids in a few years and tell us about everything he’s been doing.”
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
