A motor vehicle crash took the life of former Baker University student, Kyle Almeida, 23, Tuesday morning in Lawrence after the 1997 Ford Taurus he was driving veered off the road, rolling more than once before coming to a complete stop.
Almeida, a senior at the University of Kansas in the School of Architecture attended Baker for two years and played in the position of defender on the soccer team in the fall of 2002 and 2003. He transferred to KU in 2004 and is originally from Warrensburg, Mo.
Lt. Kari Wempe with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Almeida was southbound on East 1600 Road when the car went off the roadway. He was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kelly Wolverton, assistant men’s soccer coach, played on the soccer team with Almeida when he was at Baker and said he had the same positive attitude about life on and off the field.
“His personality was upbeat,” he said. “He was really happy to be wherever he was, but at the same time – particularly when he was on the soccer field – when he came to practice, he came to work. I think that’s how he treated everything he did.”
Ashley Cross, Baker alumna and two-year college roommate of Almeida, said she talked to Almeida on a daily basis and saw him at least once a week after he began attending KU.
“He lit up the room when he walked in; he had a smile that everybody knew,” she said. “He always brightened everybody’s day. He always wanted to have a good time and be with his friends and family.”
Cross said family was extremely important to Almeida, and he managed to balance spending time with his friends and family while working through heavy course loads.
“When I lived with him, he spent hours in the studio,” she said. “There were times I wouldn’t see him for days because he was there doing architecture. His goal was to be in architecture, and he was well on his way to doing that.”
Cross said Almeida was the friend that always tried to cheer everyone else up.
“He could bring anybody out of any sort of bad slump or bad day,” she said. “He’s been a great friend. My husband’s away training in the army right now, and Kyle’s been a really good friend while he’s gone. He’ll be missed a lot.”
Senior Josh Marchbank, a soccer teammate of Almeida’s, said the loss of someone so young is hard to accept.
“Kyle brightened the room whenever he entered, and his laugh was contagious,” he said. “The thought that I will never get to see him again is a difficult pill to swallow.”
Tim Beggs, 26, of Lawrence, was a passenger in the vehicle. He was wearing his seatbelt and was treated for minor injuries at the scene and released.
Wempe said the accident report indicates the investigating officer’s opinion was that the influence of alcohol and driving too fast for the road conditions were factors contributing to the accident.
“Generally there’s never just one single factor,” Wempe said. “Toxicology and things like that won’t be back for a while. It’s an impression of the scene, and evidence found at the scene will determine a preliminary opinion – which is just cause of the accident.”
