Man arrested after crash that killed 13-year-old boy near middle school
A 21-year-old man was arrested Thursday after a crash that killed a 13-year-old boy Monday night near a Henderson school.
Jose Marmolejo was booked on a charge of reckless driving resulting in death, the Henderson Police Department said. It was not clear how Henderson police had identified Marmolejo as a suspect or how he was arrested.
Police were called to the 100 block of East Paradise Hills Drive at 5:18 p.m. after a report of the crash, on Monday night, police said.
A driver “lost control of their vehicle, leaving the roadway onto the sidewalk,” police said. The vehicle, a black coupe, hit Rex Patchett, of Henderson, who was pronounced dead at the scene near Mannion Middle School.
Speed was believed to be a factor, but impairment was not, police said at the time.
An online fundraiser for the teen had raised more than $45,000 as of Thursday.
“Rex loved all sports, but especially basketball and football,” a message on the GoFundMe page said. “His approach to sports was the same as his approach to life, just find a way to enjoy it with others. Rex is always making everyone crack up with laughter. In moments of silence, we still hear Rex laughing with us.”
A group of students, parents and other residents gathered on Tuesday night to celebrate his life. A small group of youngsters rode up to the memorial on scooters and bikes about 6 p.m. Cars pulled up and dropped off other Mannion students, who huddled in front of the memorial and walked on the same sidewalk where Rex was struck.
“I believe it’s really sad,” said Ivan Bernal, whose son Andrew was in classes with Rex. “It just makes me angry to hear that a kid lost his life, especially like that on the sidewalk.”
As the sun set, a bouquet of flowers and pictures of Rex lay near the crash site, and the memorial grew as the night went on and people added flowers and other messages of love.
Marmolejo was being held at the Henderson Detention Center as of Thursday night.
Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.
