Former La Mirada High School star athlete killed in Long Beach car crash

LONG BEACH -- The 2008 Whittier Daily News Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year died early Friday in a car crash on the 605 Freeway.

Cameron Allan Gillett, 21, of Norwalk was killed in the 2:15 a.m. crash on the 605 Freeway, just south of Carson Street in Long Beach, coroner's officials said.

He was driving his 1998 Nissan Altima northbound when, "For reasons unknown, (Gillett) allowed the vehicle to drift off the road, down a dirt/grass embankment," California Highway Patrol Officer Jeremy Tolen said in a written statement. The car then went airborne and struck a concrete bridge abutment.

"Drugs and/or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in this collision," he added.

Authorities added that the investigation is ongoing.

"He was such a joy to be around," said Gillett's mother, Eileen Neal. "He was really kind to everyone. He always had a word to make you feel comfortable. He put you at ease."

Gillett was unrelenting in any goal he set for himself, whether on or off the track, she said.

"He'll work at something hard and he'll go to accomplish it," Neal said. "He was competing with himself to be better."

He is survived by his mother and step-father, Wilbert Saunders, as well as three brothers and a girlfriend.

"He just reached 21 (April 10). He was so excited," his mother said.

He has worked as a recreation aid for the City of La Mirada for the past three years, Neal said, serving as a coach and referee for children among other duties.

He enjoyed listening to music, playing video games and going to museums and the beach with his girlfriend, she added.

Gillett studied economics at California State University Long Beach, where he was a jumper for the track and field team.

On Sunday, Gillett was on the track for CSULB, where he took fourth place in the 400m dash at the 17th annual Asics Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine. His brothers, with whom Neal said her son was extremely close, were there to cheer him on.

As a track and field star for La Mirada High School, Gillett was named the Whittier Daily News' 2008 All-Area Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. He was also an honor roll student and basketball forward at the high school.

During his high school career, he became the 2008 State long jump champion with a leap of 24 feet, 1 3/4 inches.

He earned three top 10 Big West Championships finishes in the long and triple jumps during the 2010 indoor season.

Last year, as La Mirada High School's only state champion, Gillett became the first inductee into the school's track and field hall of fame, La Mirada head track and field coach Ollie Lynch.

"He was definitely the best athlete I've ever coached in track and field, bar none," Lynch said.

"(But) he was humble. He came back every chance he got while he was at Long Beach State to help out our kids," Lynch said.

"He'd come out on a weekly basis, and he'd have a big old smile on his face. That smile, I'll never forget it."

Beyond his athletic achievements, Gillett was a positive and hard-working young man and a role model to those around him, Lynch said.

"He was just an amazing kid," Lynch said. "Always charismatic, everybody's friend, always doing the right thing. He was just a positive person that others could emulate and try to be like.

"He's going to be missed by everyone who ever met him. He's had an impact on an entire community."

Services had not been scheduled Friday.