Former Sacramento State University football player Ivan Garza has died after being struck by a vehicle in his home town of Delano, California, his family confirmed. He was 25.
The accident happened in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 8, when a vehicle traveling north struck the former offensive lineman while he was crossing the street, according to CBS News.
“Rest in peace, Ivan Garza,” the Hornets wrote via Instagram on Thursday, July 9. “We give our deepest condolences to Ivan’s friends and family. He will be remembered as a wonderful teammate, player, and Hornet.”
The post also linked to a GoFundMe page set up to support his mother, Sandra, as she navigates funeral costs and “financial challenges that come with such a devastating tragedy.” It has raised more than $25,000 as of Friday, July 10.
“Ivan will be remembered for the person he was,” the fundraiser’s description reads. “A gentle giant with a kind heart, an infectious smile, and a genuine love for his family, friends, teammates, and everyone fortunate enough to know him.”
The GoFundMe states that Garza died in a “hit-and-run accident,” though that has not been confirmed. CBS reports the driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene and was “cooperative,” and that the incident is currently under investigation.
“Nobody knows such a big guy with such a big heart,” his aunt, Sonia Garza, told local CBS affiliate KBAK. “He was a great mentor to everybody. He was a big guy, so everybody automatically looked up to him. And then when they saw that he was good, they looked up to him even more.”
Garza enrolled at Sacramento State in 2019, redshirting his first year. His second season was wiped out entirely by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he finally took the field for the Hornets in 2021 and played three seasons.
Prior to college, he played football at Robert F. Kennedy High School, where he was a four-year varsity player and was also on the basketball and track and field teams.
“He was a success story out of RFK and Delano as a whole,” the school wrote via Facebook. “He showed that big things can come from small places. His heart was as huge as his size. Rest easy young man, you are at peace.”
His former head coach at RFK, Mario Millan, called Garza one of the “stewards” of their program.
“He was a phenomenal student, a phenomenal athlete, earned himself the first Division I scholarship out of Delano, I think, ever,” he said.
“Whether school was hard, as a teenager social life was hard, football was hard, whatever it may be, he always had a smile, he always laughed,” Millan added in a separate interview with ABC.
