Former KU student Rachel Leek is the victim of a fatal hit-and-run accident. A car struck her bicycle on Friday, but Leek will be remembered by those who knew her as a unique individual overflowing with enthusiasm.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Former KU student Rachel Leek will be remembered by those who knew her as a unique individual overflowing with enthusiasm.
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Hit-and-run driver identified
Police have identified the driver in the hit-and-run fatality of former KU student, Rachel Leek. The police say the driver is 21-year-old Joel Cedric Hernandez, but they have made no arrest.
Twenty-year-old Leek was the victim of a fatal hit-and-run accident when a car struck her bicycle in the 1000 block of Tennessee Street about 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Leek and her boyfriend, Sam Goodell, Lawrence non-traditional student studying American Studies, were dating for about 13 months, he said.
“I don’t know why she chose me but I was always so proud and so lucky,” Goodell said. “We were so perfect together and we balanced each other out perfectly.”
Goodell said Leek was on her way to meet him and some friends when she was struck. When he got to the scene, he said he recognized her bike.
“She really liked her bike and had just given it a paint job — blue and yellow stripes,” he said. “She was so proud of it.”
Goodell said he admired her enthusiasm for the simplest things in life.
“She just really knew how to be content in her life,” he said. “She was a treasure.”
One of 11 siblings, Leek followed some of her sisters’ paths and worked with them at Wheatfields Bakery for two years.
Martin Jiminez, Hayes senior, worked with Leek and two of her older sisters.
“She was just a solid human being,” Jiminez said. “She just set the mood with her attitude and she was just so calm, cool and collected.”
Jiminez described her as a joy to be around and to have on their team at the bakery.
“She was kind of a glue for us and she kind of kept us balanced,” Jiminez said. “She was a wonderful, wonderful person.”
Her family will hold a wake for Leek from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Olathe. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the same location.
— Edited by Samantha Foster
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