I'm bringing this over from the California board.
Found this in the San Diego U-T. My prayers and deepest condolences go out to the Parker family, and to Kari's family.
Wife, daughter had left Arizona baseball tourney
By Blanca Gonzalez and Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
June 29, 2007
FALLBROOK – The wife and toddler daughter of former Fallbrook High School baseball coach Matt Parker were killed yesterday in a freeway crash outside Quartzsite, Ariz., district officials said.
Parker and his family were in Peoria, Ariz., for a baseball tournament this week, but his wife decided to leave a day early, said Chris Murphy, whose son was playing on Parker's team in the tournament.
Kari Parker of Murrieta and her daughter, Keira, who was nearly 2, were on Interstate 10 apparently headed to Lake Havasu, where her parents live, or to Needles, where her husband's parents live, when the crash occurred, Murphy said.
He said Kari Parker's mother, who was visiting a friend in nearby Surprise, was apparently on her way home when she came upon the wreckage and recognized the car.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said Kari Parker and Keira were declared dead at the scene of the 10:44 a.m. single-car crash. A department spokeswoman said it wasn't clear why Parker veered back and forth across the highway before her vehicle rolled several times. The spokeswoman said the toddler was ejected.
Coach and friend Brian Cain expressed sympathy for the Parker family.
“She was the cutest little thing,” Cain said about Parker's daughter. “He really adored her. (He) used to be 100 percent baseball but since she came along . . . well, he just adored her.”
Parker's team, which includes at least two Fallbrook High School players, lost its game in the West Coast Division of the USA Junior Olympic Baseball Championships on yesterday morning. The team was eliminated from championship contention but was to play a consolation game today, said Jim Murphy, whose son, Clark, plays on the high school team.
Parker recently took a leave of absence from the district to become the principal of an elementary school in Needles, his hometown, said Tom Anthony, superintendent at Fallbrook Union High School District.
Anthony said Parker had the option to return to Fallbrook after one year.
Parker has coached for about nine years, taking his team to the playoffs, and is well-known and respected in the community.
“After I heard, I called my wife and told her I loved her and I'll hug my kids when I get home,” Cain said. “I feel so bad for him. He lost his life; they were everything to him.”
Staff writers Linda Lou and Kevin Gemmell contributed to this report.
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