Just last month, Loyola High School in Loyola celebrated senior Braun Levi as it entered the highest country for boys tennis.
The 18-year-old won another victory a few days ago, winning the Mission League title. In the photo, the splendid Levi stands next to teammate Cooper Schwartz, holding up four fingers – each of his four consecutive league doubles titles.
These achievements must be a little fat for the Levi family, and the January fire burned for months just a few months after their home in Pacific Palisades. The family moved to Nanwan.
Well, when Loyola principal Jamal Adams sent an email to students and staff at the Catholic Jesuit School on Sunday, telling them that Levi was killed in a traffic accident a month before he graduated from high school.
“Braun has a place in our Loyola family, bringing light, joy and inspiration to everyone he touched,” Adams wrote.
The principal invited families of Loyola School to hold prayers on campus on Sunday evening. “All our community members are welcome to our unity and memory,” Adams wrote.
Manhattan Beach police said they arrested a 33-year-old Los Angeles woman in suspected drunk driving and homicide related to the crash, which they said happened after midnight on Sunday.
The department's brief news report said a call about the accident was sent at 12:46 a.m. involving a traffic accident involving a pedestrian in the 100 block of South Sepurvida Avenue. They found that the victim was not identified and lying on the street.
Los Angeles' Jenia Belt has been arrested in the crash, police statement said. A police surveillance commander said the belt stayed in Manhattan Beach prison on Sunday.
Friends showered Levi's social media account and paid tribute to him. Levi will attend the University of Virginia in the fall.
A message said: “Anyone who knows you knows how lucky they are.” “You have never met a stranger that has had an impact on everyone you meet. I live and love like you every day.”
Another said: “Whether you were lucky enough to span an hour or a lifetime with him, he was impressed. It is impossible to feel sad or bored whenever Braun is around him, and the gift from him lifting the people around him is indeed single.”
Images on Levi’s social media suggest a typical Southern California upbringing experience. He wades with his family in a tall Sierra Lake, armed on the beach, posing with actor Adam Sandler, swaying in a pink suit and a fedora beside a racing car.
Just two years ago, another Loyola High student-athlete passed away in the last few weeks of his high school career. Baseball team pitcher Ryan Times was hit and killed by a train during spring break in April 2023.
Brian Hold, the coach of Loyola’s tennis team, called three-year captain Levi, “probably the most decorated player ever.”
Levi also teaches AP economics and statistics. “We were all stunned, destructive and sad,” Held said via email. “Braun is the most magical, all-around leader everyone loves, even his opponent. He is just that unique and special kind of kid. As one of his teachers, I've seen how he brings joy to everyone.”
Levi is survived by his parents and sister.
Times worker Eric Sondheimer contributed to the report.
