This story really hit me hard. Emily Gold, who was only 17 and from Los Osos High School, made this super sad decision to end her life. She jumped off the overpass on East Freeway, and it’s just so heartbreaking. The school and her family are just devastated, trying to figure out why this happened.
It all went down on September 14, 2024. The California Highway Patrol and police got this emergency call around 11:50 PM about a body on the Foothill Freeway in Rancho Cucamonga. Turns out, it was Emily, a senior and cheerleader at Los Osos High School. The school had to step in to help identify her, and man, I can’t even imagine how that felt for them.
Emily lived in Sylmar, which is about 19 miles from where she died. She had left her house earlier that evening, and her parents got the worst news ever after that. The reports say she jumped onto the freeway, right into the carpool lane of the 210 East. And honestly, it’s just horrible – several cars hit her, and none of the drivers even stopped at first. The police only got notified around 11:57 PM.
One driver did eventually pull her body to the side of the road and waited for help. They shut down the whole freeway until midnight. Sadly, Emily didn’t make it because the impact from the cars was just too much.
The whole Rancho Cucamonga community is standing by her family right now. The family hasn’t said anything publicly yet, but they must be going through so much.
Emily was on the Varsity Dance Team and Cheer Squad at her school, and her teammates posted such an emotional tribute to her. I read that one of her friend’s moms, Janet Womack, had some really touching words about her too. She said Emily was an amazing dancer and gymnast, and you could just tell she was meant to do that. Janet had a close bond with Emily’s family and even helped set up a GoFundMe page for funeral costs, which has raised about $16.9K.
What’s really messed up is that there’s this video of the accident going around online, and it’s got over 5K likes and views. Some people have been posting messages to the family. One person said something like, “My heart breaks for Emily. I knew her and her family, and it’s just such a tragedy.”
No one really knows why Emily made this decision, though. People are guessing she might’ve been dealing with depression, but no one’s confirmed anything.
The school is really trying to help the students process all this. They’ve got counselors and therapists set up in the Wellness Center for anyone who needs to talk.
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