Hit-and-run victim a ‘colorful character’

Deepa Bharath

John Morris spent a good part of Tuesday night with his friend James

Jerome Snyder.

They’ve known each other since they met at an after-school class

at Newport Harbor High School. On Tuesday, Snyder invited Morris to

go to the Angels game. He always had season tickets to the games, but

it was the first time Morris went just because he “had nothing else

to do.”

That night, they reminisced about their old “high school days” and

the fun they had had.

On Wednesday morning, 26-year-old Snyder died in a crash on the

northbound Costa Mesa Freeway that officials say was caused by a

driver who made an unsafe lane change and then fled the scene.

Snyder’s Chevy Blazer rolled over several times and came to rest

on the carpool lane. He was thrown out of his car and died at Western

Medical Center in Santa Ana.

“I’m so glad I went to that game,” Morris said.

Snyder’s golfing buddy Brian Konreth had actually seen the mangled

golden Blazer lying on the freeway.

“I was on my way to work and got stuck,” he said. “I saw his truck

upside down and destroyed. But I didn’t know at the time. But when

one of my friends called me and told me about it. That’s when it hit

me.”

News of Snyder’s death hit his former roommate Chris Kerry like a

bolt.

“I was shocked,” said Kerry, who now lives in the Bay Area. “He

was a unique personality. A colorful character. I’ve never met anyone

like him before.”

He said thinking of the hit-and-run driver horrifies him.

“To think that someone would look in their rearview mirror and see

a car rolling on the freeway,” he said. “And to not even stop. It’s

not even human.”

California Highway Patrol officers are still looking for that

driver, who has only been described as a man driving a newer model

black Ford Explorer. Officials said that the man had initially pulled

over, but drove off after he saw CHP officers approaching him.

Snyder’s friends are still dealing with his untimely demise. He

was on his way to work when the accident occurred. Snyder worked a

sales job for a company in Fullerton.

On Wednesday night, a bunch of friends got together and “just

talked and reminisced,” said Mike Bell, who has known Snyder since

sixth grade in Corona del Mar High School and hung out with him

around the “flower streets” in Corona del Mar.

“He was very driven and committed to what he did,” Bell said. “He

was a good friend. We had barbecues and drank beer watching Angels

and Lakers games.”

Snyder was a huge sports fan and played several sports, including

golf and badminton, he said.

But golf was Snyder’s first love, said Morris, who shared that

passion with him.

“His dream was to play professional golf,” he said. “He truly

loved the game.”

Konreth, who also enjoyed playing golf with Snyder at Costa Mesa

Country Club, said Snyder enjoyed the “competition.”

“He liked to face a new challenge every day,” he said. “He wanted

to play good players so he could better his game. We’re trying to

play golf today, and it’s not the same without him.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].