Student Kephas Pope Killed in Car Accident
Photo by Dylan Ryu. Police block off El Camino Real on Thursday after the collision.
Kephas Pope, an 18-year-old Santa Clara University student, was killed in a collision involving a vehicle while crossing El Camino Real on Thursday. The driver was cooperative with police and the use of drugs or alcohol “do not appear to be a factor in the collision,” according to the Santa Clara Police Department.
A memorial service for Santa Clara University student Kephas Pope ’27 will be held at the Sanger Community Church on Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. in his hometown of Sanger, California. Pope’s father, Nathan Pope, has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral costs and to support the family during their loss.
Pope was a “smart, kind, humorous and innocent soul,” according to one donation from Pope’s GoFundMe. He “brought so much joy, warmth and laughter to us.”
The loss has raised concerns within the community regarding the safety of students crossing El Camino Real. The six lane road cuts through Santa Clara University’s campus, separating the University’s upperclassmen housing from classrooms, dining services and the main campus.
El Camino Real “has always been a danger to SCU students,” said a commenter on The Santa Clara’s Instagram who frequently travels on the road. The sentiment was echoed by other commenters: “That intersection needs a major overhaul” and “Our streets aren’t safe enough for cyclists and pedestrians.”
In an additional post made by The Santa Clara, one commenter noted the striking similarities between El Camino Real and The Alameda. “The Alameda used to be open to traffic between Benson and the library,” he said. The road “was dangerous so it was closed to traffic and the new El Camino was opened.”
Provided by Santa Clara University’s Archives and Special Collections. Aerial photograph of Santa Clara University’s campus in the 1960s, including the Mission Church in the center and Kenna Hall on the far left.
The path between Benson and the library was not always the flower-lined walkway current students know it to be. An aerial image of Santa Clara University from the 1960s reveals the old layout of campus: The Alameda was a four-lane road that ran straight through campus, before it was closed in 1988 and converted into the current red-brick road.
One main reason for the reconstruction involved the death of anthropology Professor Mark Lynch, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing The Alameda in 1983.