Family of student murdered while walking to class wants change

SANTA CLARA, California. – The family of a Santa Clara University student who was killed while crossing the street near the school called on city leaders to improve safety in the area.

Kephas Pope was murdered last Thursday on El Camino Real in Santa Clara, just steps from his home and school.

“He crossed three times a day,” said his father, Nathan Pope, as he pointed to the location where his son crossed the street every day.

Pope struggled to understand how his son was murdered in front of their apartment building.

The 18-year-old crossed the street to attend classes at Santa Clara University, where he was a sophomore.

“My whole body is kind of numb,” Pope said. “It’s very difficult to say how I feel right now.”

Around noon last Thursday, Pope said Kephas was walking his bicycle along the busy El Camino Real and stopped in the median to wait for oncoming traffic to pass.

My father said a driver in a dark-colored BMW was probably speeding when he hit a tree in the median. The impact caused the tree to fly into the air and hit Cephas in the head.

He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Pope said his son was training for a triathlon while getting good grades as a biochemist major.

His goal was to become a surgeon.

“He made plans for the future. That’s why it’s so tragic. He was so forward-looking,” Pope said.

Dad shared with KTVU text messages he exchanged with his son shortly before he was killed.

The text messages were about father and son receiving tickets to the movie ‘Gladiator 2’.

Plans for the weekend and the future will never be realized.

“I’ve screamed, screamed, cried. Now I’m mostly lonely. I miss him,” Pope said.

Police said it does not appear drugs or alcohol played a role in this incident.

Investigation shows that the driver remained at the scene and cooperated.

Police say the incident is still under investigation.

Pope said Santa Clara University officials plan to hold a vigil for Pope on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. on campus outside the Mission Church.

Amber Lee is a reporter at KTVU. Email Amber at [email protected] or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU