Family, Friends Mourn Death of East Hampton Grad
Mario Fernando Mayorga, who grew up in Springs and graduated from East Hampton High School in 2013, died on April 24 after being hit by a truck in North Carolina, where he was attending college. He was 19 years old.
The sophomore student at High Point University was on foot when he was hit by a Toyota Tundra on a Greensboro highway after a night out. The driver stopped shortly after the impact, and, with another driver who stopped to protect the body from being hit again, called 911.
Police had received a few 911 calls from drivers about a woman walking in the roadway shortly before the accident was reported. Troopers believe the person drivers had called about was actually Mr. Mayorga — that portion of the road was not well lit, said the lead investigator, North Carolina State Highway Patrol Master Trooper P.J. Mitchell. No charges are being filed against the driver.
Emergency medical personnel tried to resuscitate Mr. Mayorga, but he was pronounced dead at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro on Friday at 1:37 a.m. His family was not notified of his death until Saturday, after they reported him missing when they were unable to reach him. He had a fake ID on him.
On Monday, Trooper Mitchell met with Mr. Mayorga’s parents, Nelly Vera and Orlando Mayorga, both of whom live in Patchogue, and his aunt, uncle, and a cousin in Greensboro. He took them to the scene of the accident. “They wanted to do a memorial on the shoulder of the road. They put some long-stem roses on the asphalt where he passed away at. A dozen or so roses in a vase in the water and placed it on the shoulder,” he said.
Mr. Mayorga’s mother cried and rubbed an area of the asphalt where his dried blood was left behind, encircled by orange spray paint that Trooper Mitchell had used to take measurements in the investigation. “The father, he knelt down and tried to comfort her, and he was crying, also,” he said. “That’s the worst part of my job. I got choked up, and I actually just turned away.”
Trooper Mitchell said police have ascertained that Mr. Mayorga had been in an altercation at a nightclub late last Thursday night. “He was intoxicated. He was placed into a cab by schoolmates – not friends – people that knew him. The cab was paid for. The driver was told to take him to the university,” Trooper Mitchell said.
During the 25-minute drive to High Point, Mr. Mayorga tried to get out of the cab several times, the cab driver told police. The cab driver pulled over on the shoulder of Interstate 85 because Mr. Mayorga was feeling sick, and he got out and threw up, the trooper said. “He wouldn’t get back inside the car, and she drove off,” Trooper Mitchell said.
Police are awaiting a report from the medical examiner’s office as to Mr. Mayorga’s blood alcohol level. The division of alcohol is also investigating the situation, as is the university, Trooper Mitchell said.
Back in East Hampton on Monday, word had already reached the high school, where Mr. Mayorga graduated with the class of 2013. Adam Fine, the principal at East Hampton High School, said he knew Mr. Mayorga very well. "He was the complete package. A great student and more importantly a great person," Mr. Fine wrote in an email. "His smile priceless."
Jacqueline Bates of East Hampton, a close friend of Mr. Mayorga's who considered him part of her family, said he always made her smile. He loved High Point University, and was constantly trying to recruit her to go there, she said.
"At Springs School, he was a natural helper, someone who assisted students and other community members when need be. He was a beacon of light for all those who knew him," Ms. Bates said, adding that she intends to start a scholarship in his name. As a high school student, Mr. Mayorga's accomplishments included taking part in the Harvard Model Congress in Cambridge, Mass. He was a part of the Century Club, the National Honor Society, and other school organizations.
He was also a recipient of the Twomey Latham Community Service Scholarship in 2013, which recognizes seniors "with outstanding achievements in community service and volunteer work in their communities." He was studying political science at High Point University, and had dreams of studying law at Georgetown University and becoming a lawyer, his cousin Ana Núñez said.
Ms. Bates set up a GoFundMe account to collect donations for Mr. Mayorga's family to defray funeral costs and any other needs the family may have. "Mario was a kind soul and deserves nothing but the best. I think I speak for the entire community when I say that he will be laid to rest knowing that he was loved and cherished by all," Ms. Bates said. In one day, she raised $3,665 of the $5,000 goal. By Tuesday, the amount reached over $6,000.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized. Arrangements are being made through Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, and his services will likely be at the end of the week or beginning of next week, with a Mass at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton.
Ms. Bates is planning a separate service for May or June so that all of his friends, most of whom are in the midst of final exams in college, can attend.
Meanwhile, a vigil was held at High Point University, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity, on Saturday evening. The local Fox News station reported that his classmates placed flowers on his car and painted a rock on campus in his memory. The campus came together again on Monday for a memorial with his family in attendance, according to Pam Haynes, the director of media relations at the university. Students wore pink, his favorite color, in his honor.