Los Gatos teen dies in an accident on Bass Lake.
Second fatal accident in less than a week at lake near Yosemite
A 14- year- old Los Gatos boy vacationing with his family was killed Wednesday night in a jet ski accident at Bass Lake, just south of Yosemite National Park.
Kyle Farr was remembered as an athletic, compassionate boy. He had recently graduated from Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos and was set to attend Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, where his brother is already a student.
Family members say Kyle was an ambitious and fun- loving teen with a contagious laugh that still echoes in their ears.
“Just listening to him laugh would make you laugh,” said Kyle’s godmother, Julianne Murphy. “Kyle’s personality was larger than life. He had the quickest wit and was just a gentle soul. The whole community is broken up about this.”
Murphy said the Farr family owned a home at Bass Lake for generations, and Kyle grew up wake- boarding, surfing and skiing on the lake.
“He wasn’t a beginner,” she said. “He was an expert jet- skier, and that was one of his passions. This was just a tragic accident.”
Farr’s older brother, Aiden, is going to be a junior at Bellarmine in the fall, and Kyle had just completed his third week of a summer Algebra readiness class there, according to school President Chris Meyercord. The brothers were inseparable, according to their family, and Aiden is in disbelief over Kyle’s death .
“It’s only been 36 hours, and he’s trying to be brave for his brother and his parents,” Murphy said. “These boys were best friends. We still can’t believe it’s real. It just doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Kyle and an 18- year- old friend were riding their jet skis on the lake about 11 p. m. when Kyle hit a moored pontoon boat and was ejected into the water, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.
A resident heard cries for help, took his boat onto the lake and found the 18year- old friend and Kyle, who was unresponsive.
The man got Kyle and his friend onto the boat and took them to a dock near the Pines Resort, where deputies and paramedics attempted to revive Kyle, who died at the scene.
The Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate what factors contributed to the collision.
It was the second fatal jet ski accident at Bass Lake in less than a week, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
LastSaturday, a 13- yearold boy died after being hit by a jet ski while riding on an inflatable tube connected to a pontoon boat, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The boy, David Florez of Fresno, died at the scene. His 16- year- old aunt was also on the tube and suffered a serious head injury.
Thursday, Meyercord sent an email to the Bellarmine community informing them of Kyle’s death.
In the e mail to parents, Meyercord wrote that Kyle “already embodied what it means to be a man for and with others through his involvement with the American Cancer Society, the InnVision Shelter Network, and Silicon Valley Cares.”
In his letters of recommendation for Bellarmine, Kyle’s teachers from Fisher Middle School described him as having a “quiet confidence” and being “respectful and compassionate,” Meyercord said in the email.
Meyercord called an excellent athlete played goalie for his Kyle who club hockey team, golf, rugby and wrestled for his middle school.
Murphy said he graduated in June with a 4.0 grade- point average from Fisher.
A counselor notified Kyle’s summer school classmates of his death Thursday. Counselors and priests are available for students now and when they return to school in August.
“We always start the school year with a Mass; as part of that Mass, we certainly will be remembering Kyle,” Meyercord said.
A viewing for Kyle will be held from 5 to 9 p. m. Thursday at Darling & Fischer Chapel of the Hills, 615 N. Santa Cruz Ave. in Los Gatos. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a. m. Friday at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, 219 Bean Ave. in Los Gatos.
Murphy said the Farr family welcomes everyone to the funeral but encourages attendees to wear colorful attire “in honor of Kyle’s bright personality.”
In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations in Kyle’s honor be made to Paws & Stripes or the Make- A- Wish Foundation, two charities about which he was passionate.
“It’s only been 36 hours, and he’s trying to be brave for his brother and his parents. These boys were best friends. We still can’t believe it’s real. It just doesn’t make any sense at all.”