He was just doing what big brothers do. Early Wednesday morning, May 13, Cody Howell — a 19-year-old fresh out of Riverside Preparatory School, class of 2024 — loaded his little sister into his Chevrolet Suburban and headed out for what should have been a regular school run down National Trails Highway in Oro Grande, California. It was barely seven in the morning. They never made it.
At around 6:56 a.m., just west of Robinson Ranch Road, a burgundy Dodge Ram pickup truck barreling northbound crossed into Cody’s lane and slammed head-on into the Suburban. The impact was so violent that both drivers were pinned inside their vehicles and firefighters had to cut them free from the wreckage. When emergency responders reached Cody, there was nothing they could do. He was pronounced dead right there at the scene, still behind the wheel, as first responders later placed a yellow tarp over him. His little sister, trapped in the passenger seat, was pulled from the twisted metal alive. She suffered a concussion and is now recovering at home.
The other driver, the man behind the wheel of that Dodge Ram, wasn’t in good shape either. Firefighters had to extricate him too, and he was airlifted to a trauma center with serious injuries. The California Highway Patrol shut down National Trails Highway in both directions for several hours while investigators worked the scene. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Word spread fast through the tight-knit Oro Grande community. The Oro Grande School District released a statement confirming that members of the Riverside Preparatory School community were involved in the collision. For a lot of folks around there, Cody wasn’t just some name in a press release — he was a kid they watched grow up.
A family friend, Marshall Morton, wasted no time setting up a GoFundMe campaign titled “To Cody Howell a Loyal Man Full of Hidden Talents.” In the fundraiser description, Morton called Cody “one of our best and close friends” and was straightforward about why he started it — he wanted the family to not have to stress about money while they’re still in shock over losing their boy. “Before his family has to deal with legalities and funds going forward with celebrating his life, I would like to raise money in advance,” Morton wrote.
People who knew Cody described him as kind, hardworking, and fiercely devoted to the people he loved. That last part isn’t hard to believe. The kid was up before sunrise, making sure his little sister got to school safe. That’s not something you think twice about when you love your family like that. You just do it. And on May 13, that love cost him everything.
By Thursday, the campaign had pulled in $2,835 of its $5,000 goal. It’s not just dollars — it’s a community saying out loud that Cody Howell mattered. That a 19-year-old with hidden talents and a big heart deserved better than a head-on collision on a highway before the sun had barely come up. His sister made it home. Cody didn’t. And that’s the part nobody around Oro Grande is going to get over anytime soon.
