'The Clouds Parted & Sun Came Out' As 3 Teens Were Laid To Rest

MENLO PARK, CA — The skies cleared and the sun came out Thursday almost on queue and just in time for the combined funeral services of Matthew Cruz, Andrew Gonzales and Ricky Torres. All three were memorialized together at Nativity Church in Menlo Park. An estimated crowd of 1,000 mourners filled the church and spilled out into tents set up for an overflowing crowd consisting of family and friends all in attendance to celebrate their lives and say their last goodbyes.

On Oct. 31, the three young teenage men tragically lost their lives in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 35, near Bear Gulch Road in Woodside. Two of the three, Gonzales and Torres, were Menlo Park Fire District Explorers and Torres was the oldest son of the Fire District’s Master Mechanic Rudy Torres who has worked with the Fire District for 14 years.

“The entire Fire District family came out today to show our support to these families, while other Fire Crews from Redwood City, Woodside, South San Francisco, Central County and San Mateo County Fire covered our Fire Stations and emergency calls during the two hour service," Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.

Matthew Cruz spent almost three years on the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Activities Leagues Teen Leadership Council and mentoring program where he worked directly with sheriff's deputies and staff to help improve the North Fair Oaks community. On Thursday, representatives from the sheriff’s department and the Activities League were on hand to show their support and offer condolences to the family.

Go-Fund-Me requests to privately raise up to $60,000 dollars to pay for all three funerals have exceeded expectations and for the funeral, tech giant Facebook donated the use of two 50-person buses to help comfortably move attendees back and forth from Menlo Park to the graveside services at Skylawn Cemetery Thursday afternoon.

"That was a strategic move to help ease traffic congestion impacts by shortening the anticipated 100-vehicle procession and allowing people to relax and be together on the buses," the Fire Chief said.

The installation of guard rail was an idea brought up by Gary Cruz, Matthew's father because he doesn’t want any other families to go through what he and his wife Lety are going through right now. He knows this is just one small strip of roadway but he believes every bit helps and it will give him comfort if it could save a life in the future. Upon hearing this idea Rudy and Barbi Torres, Shelley Gonzales and Jason Perez (Andrews’s brother) all want to be involved in bringing this together working with Caltrans and the County.

The families are now focused on growing a public Go-Fund-Me account to raise funds to pro-actively install a guard rail to help prevent future loss of life or injury at the scene of this accident.

“The families feel that if the guard rail in that location along Highway 35 would have been in place, the outcome may have been different and their children could still be alive today," the Fire Chief said.

Donate Here: https://www.gofundme.com/7fmg8u-help-prevent-another-tragedy

— STORY AND PHOTO SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION BY: Menlo Park Fire Protection District