UCLA alumna Melissa Del Aguila, 23, who was struck and killed by a taxi on June 18, is remembered by friends and family as a dedicated student and a loyal friend
Recent UCLA graduate Melissa Del Aguila sustained fatal injuries from an oncoming vehicle on Wilshire Boulevard. Friends and relatives describe her as a dedicated student who hoped to go into government some day.
Courtesy of Oscar Vasquez
By Kelly Zhou
June 27, 2011 6:10 a.m.
Melissa Del Aguila, a new UCLA graduate, died of internal bleeding after a taxi accident on June 18. She was 23.
That night, Del Aguila was celebrating her recent graduation with friends at Q’s Billiard Club in West Los Angeles. About an hour later, Del Aguila was at the 2400 block of Wilshire Boulevard, near Douglas Park, when she was witnessed running into oncoming traffic, according to a Santa Monica Police Department statement.
She appears to have been trying to hail a taxi, said Sgt. Richard Lewis of the Santa Monica Police Department.
Investigators are still unclear as to how she traveled one mile from Q’s Billiard Club to Santa Monica in 5-inch heels without any form of transportation.
She was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died because of her injuries.
Del Aguila, who transferred to UCLA in 2009, was a driven and fiercely independent individual, friends said.
When her family moved to Wisconsin after Del Aguila’s high school graduation, she stayed in California and worked full-time.
She lived with her uncle, Oscar Vasquez, and her relatives in Bell, Calif., for about a year, but she was mostly on her own, independently juggling school and a full-time job.
Dreaming of attending UCLA, Del Aguila balanced 40-plus hour weeks with classes at five different community colleges.
“She’s one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever met,” said Eric De Santos, Del Aguila’s best friend and ex-boyfriend. “She was always studying and always wanted to better herself. She refused to get low grades while going to junior college.”
When she finally received her acceptance letter from UCLA, Del Aguila wanted to share the news with her family in person.
“She was ecstatic,” said Stephanie Del Aguila, her sister. “She bought her plane ticket, didn’t mention it to any of us, flew out to Wisconsin and told us there.”
While attending UCLA, Del Aguila aspired to go to law school and planned to attend a program at New York University this summer. She “probably would have passed a law” someday, as she had goals of becoming a senator, Stephanie Del Aguila said.
“She had a lot of goals and ambitions, and she was on the right track to hit them,” De Santos said.
Del Aguila’s sorority Pi Beta Phi held a memorial service on Thursday, where more than 60 guests shared fond stories about the “lively” and “spirited” Del Aguila and her love for her dog, Rambo, who kept her company when she was lonely.
“She was very passionate about her dog Rambo,” Stephanie Del Aguila said. “He was like her child. “¦ She would take that dog with her everywhere. He would cry if he didn’t see her for a day.”
Protective and caring, Del Aguila maintained strong relationships with her friends and family.
“In a way, I feel like I have not lost my niece but my daughter,” Vasquez said. “Since her family moved to Wisconsin, in a way, we adopted her as a daughter.”
Vasquez described the close ties within the entire family and remembered Del Aguila’s love for singing, especially at family gatherings. Even when she was only 3 or 4 years old, Del Aguila would always bring a cassette player when she visited her relatives because she wanted to sing.
“”˜Amazing Grace’ was one of her favorite songs,” Vasquez said. “When she sang, it was with such a feeling that sometimes she made us cry.”
Friends often did not have enough words to describe the enormity of Del Aguila’s personality, echoing words such as caring, outgoing and passionate. She loved cracking jokes, watching the TV show “The Office” and cared strongly about the people in her life.
“She always wanted me to do better than her, she would push me to do more than I thought I could,” Stephanie Del Aguila said.
Her dedication and consideration toward people were universal.
De Santos described how, when he lost his job, Del Aguila would drive out from UCLA to Huntington Beach just to visit him and offer support.
“Before I met Melissa, it wasn’t real to find a person like her,” De Santos said.
Del Aguila was born on Nov. 14, 1987 in Huntington Park. She grew up in Maywood and Rowland Heights, and graduated from Rowland High School in 2005. Devoutly Christian, Del Aguila participated in choir. She was also an avid runner on her high school’s cross country and track teams. She graduated this month with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Del Aguila is survived by her father, Edgar; mother, Betty; and sister, Stephanie.
With reports from Ashley Luu, Bruin senior staff.
