Teen's death mourned

A Tucumcari High School freshman died in a one-vehicle accident last week, touching off spasms of grief from the student body and gestures of support from the community.

Jayden Gloms, who had marked his 15th birthday two weeks before, died when the vehicle he was riding in overturned at the firing range site of Five Mile Park on the city's west side.

Records by New Mexico State Police stated the accident was reported shortly before 5 p.m. Jan. 24.

According to a first-responder radio transmission at the scene shortly after the accident, the vehicle had been "doing doughnuts" on the sandy soil just before the accident.

Details about the crash remained scarce. The Tucumcari Police Department, which was investigating, had not issued a statement or a report about it.

TPD Detective Reyes Gonzales, the lead investigator, said Friday a report on the crash wouldn't be complete until sometime this week. He declined to confirm any details about the accident.

Police Chief Pete Rivera said one day after the crash the report would be sent to the district attorney's office for referral of possible criminal charges.

Rivera had pledged to later give to the Quay County Sun some basic details about the accident, but he was fired on Thursday. (See other story in this edition.)

The crash victim's identity later was confirmed by several Tucumcari Public Schools administrators and coaches and by Dunn Funeral Home in Tucumcari, which is handling arrangements. The boy's body was sent to the Office of Medical Examiner in Albuquerque for an autopsy.

Several Tucumcari High School coaches also said the accident involved several members of the boys basketball team.

Jayden's parents declined an interview through a request to an intermediary. Jerry Lopez, Steven's father-in-law, offered to be their spokesman after consulting with them.

Lopez said the parents wanted to let the judicial system do its work in the case.

"The system is here for a reason," Lopez said. "Whatever the state wants to do, that's what's going to happen. That's the reason we have a judicial system. They don't want kids to have to lose their lives (due to prosecutions); they've already lost the life of one kid. But at the end of the day, somebody has to be accountable."

At the scene Wednesday afternoon, signs of the crash were apparent. Two City of Tucumcari workers picking up trash at the firing range pointed out imprints in the soil of the vehicle's tire sidewalls, including the size numbers.

A stain on the ground showed were oil leaked from the engine, and a few pieces of broken plastic were left behind.

The funeral for Jayden was scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Rattler Gymnasium, Lopez said, with burial to follow at Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery.

The Tucumcari Convention Center will host a reception from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. Those who wish to donate paper goods, drinks or cutlery for the reception should bring them to the convention center after 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Day after

Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney, alerted of the fatal crash that night, said middle-school principal Lendall Borden and high-school principal Nicole Bright-Lesly summoned counselors to their respective schools the next day to aid grieving students.

McKinney said he also brought four or five counselors from Regional Education Cooperative 6 to the district.

"We usually put counselors at all schools," he said. "We make sure there's somebody available to talk to."

McKinney and Bright-Lesly said a significant number of THS students stayed home Wednesday, especially the Jayden's fellow freshmen.

"Parents opted to keep them home today," Bright-Lesly said Wednesday. "It's a very sad day, very emotional for our staff and students."

Boys and girl basketball Homecoming games scheduled for Thursday against Melrose were canceled. Home district games scheduled for Friday against Dexter were postponed to later this month. (See story in the Sports section.)

"We thought it was best to move that back, under the circumstances," McKinney said.

Tucumcari High School's participation in a girls wrestling tournament Saturday at West Las Vegas also was canceled.

Athletic director Wayne Ferguson, also the dean of students, said Wednesday that students weren't dealing well with Jayden's death.

"The kids who knew him, some of them aren't here," Ferguson said. "The others are very quiet, walking around like zombies. It's not a very good situation."

Dana Benavidez, who recently organized a 42-team elementary-school basketball tournament at TPS, wrote in a social media post that Jayden offered to help with the sprawling event.

"Months ago when we started planning our youth tournament, Jayden was one of the eager kids to let me know right away he would ref," she wrote. "And when the tournament started, he reffed the whole day at the Elementary ... without complaining not one single time."

"He was a really great kid, had a great personality, very outgoing," Bright-Lesly said. "He was always moving, always active."

Lopez said: "Jayden was an outgoing kid. He was a people person. He wanted to be with everybody. He had a love for life and wanted to be everywhere."

Community responds

On Thursday afternoon, the parking lot of Rattler Gymnasium hosted a balloon-release event in remembrance of Jayden.

About 200 balloons were purchased for students or other participants. Several brought their own - some in the shape of a "J" or the number "22," which was Jayden's basketball uniform number.

A few wrote messages on balloons such as "You always put a smile on faces," "I am thankful you were in my life," "We're gonna miss you, bro" and "Rest easy, Jayden."

After the playing of Kyle Hume's song "If I Would Have Known" over a portable public-address system and a prayer from Tucumcari First Assembly pastor Dereck Owen, hundreds of people let the balloons loose. They watched silently for several minutes as the orbs drifted eastward into the sky and disappeared.

On Friday evening, a candlelight vigil was held outside Rattler Gymnasium. Near a table that held balloons, candles, flowers and the initials "JG," mourners shielded their hand-held candles from the wind. Some wept.

Benavidez requested 22 seconds of silence, and Owen presided over another prayer.

Songs such as "Dancing in the Sky" by Dani & Lizzy, "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy, "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Hume's "If I Would Have Known" were played over the portable PA.

Jayden's father, Steven Gloms, told the throng in a shaking voice the family appreciated the thoughts, prayers and outpouring of support, though he admitted he was "heartbroken inside."

"To all you parents out there, hold your kids," he said.

It was the second tragedy to befall the family in a month. Jayden's 9-year-old half-sister, Anastacia, died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve.

Mario Chavez, Jayden's uncle, praised the turnout of hundreds.

"He would have loved it," he said.

Chavez said he was creating a video about Jayden and asked people to offer their stories about him.

Several Tucumcari businesses gave condolences with signs or social media messages.

The student body at Melrose - Tucumcari's Homecoming opponent - also sent its well wishes by social media on Thursday.

Lopez set up a GoFundMe.com funeral and memorial campaign on behalf of Jayden's family. Through Monday morning, it had raised nearly $4,000 of its $10,000 goal. The link is gofund.me/8c28295d.

VFW Post 2528 in Tucumcari hosted a benefit nine-ball pool tournament Saturday, sponsored by the Quay County Detention Center, for Jayden.

During Monday's Quay County Commission meeting, Chairman Robert Lopez said Jayden's father is a county employee.

"Please remember the family in your prayers," he said.