A Pinewood School graduate has died following an off-roading accident that severely injured his four companions.
Andrew Joseph Kruep, 24, died instantly April 18 from injuries sustained when the Jeep he rode in rolled off a trail near Lockwood in Monterey County and tumbled 700 feet down an embankment, according to California Highway Patrol reports and his family.
Emergency crews transported the four survivors to area hospitals for treatment. The CHP identified them as Spencer N. Blodgett, 24, of Lafayette; Myles Andrew Franklin, 21, of San Luis Obispo; Sean Ross Mullen, 22, of San Luis Obispo; and Darren Thomas Mullen, 25, of San Luis Obispo.
The accident occurred at approximately 1:40 a.m. as Kruep and his friends drove through Williams Hill Recreation Area, according to the CHP. All five men were ejected from the vehicle. It took rescue crews approximately 8 hours to extricate the victims due to the remote location.
As of April 29, a CHP investigation of the crash continued.
Kruep was born in St. Louis and lived in Denver for a time before moving with his family to Los Altos Hills, where he spent much of his life. He graduated from Pinewood School in 2009 and earned a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from St. Mary’s College in May 2014. After college, Kruep worked as a business development manager for an environmental remediation technology firm serving the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest. He planned to attend business school.
Kruep’s family described him as “an exceptional snow skier, a voracious reader and an aspiring, self-taught chef and baker.”
Kruep “approached life with a great deal of curiosity and gusto,” according to his family. “He was a quick study, funny and witty. He never backed down from anything or anyone. His kindness could be seen by the way he played with his puppy, Greta.”
Kruep is survived by his parents, Donna and Randall Kruep, and his younger siblings, Julia and Christian.
A celebration of life funeral mass was held April 23 at St. Nicholas Church.
