Zachary Parke
Zachary Parke, 25, of Santa Cruz, was found dead on the University of California at Santa Cruz campus on Wednesday after he was killed in a by a hit and run driver.
His body was found near Heller Drive on Empire Grade Road, which is a primary route for students entering and leaving the campus.
He was in the bushes 15 feet in front of his bicycle, and broken glass littered the ground.
California Highway Patrol officers said Zachary Parke was riding a bicycle when he was hit by a car. A driver traveling in a maroon Nissan or Infiniti fled after hitting the bicyclist, CHP officers said.
Another bicyclist found Zachary Parke’s body at 8:05 a.m. on Wednesday and called 911.
Zachary Parke, who is not a UCSC student, was returning home at midnight from the campus after hanging out with friends, his mother April Parke said.
“His friend left at the same time he did. He saw Zachary take off on his bike going down Empire Grade,” April Parke said. Her son never made it home.
Zachary Parke was an avid outdoor rock climber and studied art at Cabrillo College, according to his Facebook page. He went climbing at Sebastian Big Wall in Yosemite with his friends recently.
April Parke described the pain she felt when an official from the coroner’s office knocked on her door Wednesday morning.
“She said she was from the coroner’s office. I said, ‘Is my son OK?'” April Parke said. “She said, ‘No, I’m sorry, he isn’t.'”
The California Highway Patrol needs help finding the hit-and-run driver. Anyone with information on this accident should contact the CHP at 662-0511. The maroon Nissan or Infiniti is missing a side mirror and likely has front-end damage, officers said.
“Somebody was probably drunk, somebody hit him, and it has to be their fault,” April Parke said.
The bicyclist was seasoned in navigating roads on two wheels. He worked as a bike messenger four days a week for Clutch Couriers and pedaled all over the county, April Parke said.
“They weren’t going to let me see him, but I begged them to let me see him one last time,” April Parke said as tears welled up in her eyes.
UCSC students are taking final examinations this week before the spring semester ends.
Campus security did not block off the road while investigators surveyed the scene. Parke’s body was moved into a coroner’s truck before 10 a.m. and few students realized the tragedy that had happened as they drove by.
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