Teen dies in RB crash

Students at Abraxas and Rancho Bernardo high schools are mourning the loss of Mark Jurgen Ebert, 17, an Abraxas senior, who died shortly after a late evening Nov. 4 car accident on Bernardo Heights Parkway.

Traffic investigator Det. Dan Wall of San Diego Police Department said that preliminary reports indicate Ebert was driving a Camaro Z-28 in excess of 95 m.p.h.

Ebert is suspected of racing with another driver, according to police.

“They blew past me,” was the comment from an eye witness to police, Wall said. That witness, an insurance adjuster by profession, was also driving eastward on Bernardo Heights.

Ebert apparently lost control of his car, which hit the median and slammed into a tree about 10:30 p.m. He was transported to Palomar Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:09 p.m., a San Diego County medical examiner’s investigator said.

According to Wall, drugs or alcohol are not suspected as contributing factors in the accident.

This week, Abraxas students were making banners with personal notes about Ebert, who many described as a “sweet guy.”

“We’ve put out supplies so kids can write on the banner and express their feelings,” said Principal Rudy Casciato.

“They’re also gathering around a tree where he used to hang out.”

Former classmates from Rancho Bernardo High School were dropping off flowers and notes at a makeshift memorial near the accident scene.

Crisis counselors were available on both campuses and some students had such a difficult time coping with the news on Monday that they were dismissed for the day.

Tuesday at RB High, senior Ashley Myers, a senior who went to school with Ebert since sixth grade at Bernardo Heights, described her friend as “one of the best guys I ever knew.”

“I don’t think I ever heard anyone say a bad thing about Mark,” Myers said. “He always wanted to make everyone happy.”

Ebert loved surfing and told Myers that his step-mom recently asked him if he believed in God.

“He told me his answer was ‘only when I’m in the ocean,’ ” Myers recalled.

Information about funeral services were not available at press time.

Roughly a year ago, almost at the same location east of Avenida Venusto, two workers from Denny’s were also involved in a high-speed accident, according to Deputy Mark Tally of Poway.

The passenger in that vehicle, Alejandro Vivas, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene after the Oct. 9 incident.

The driver, Jose Acosta, was charged with driving under the influence.