Crash Takes the Life of ‘a Natural Leader’

HUNTINGTON BEACH — An 18-year-old woman killed in a weekend car crash was identified Monday as a Huntington Beach High School senior and volleyball player.

Katherine Elizabeth Homewood, called “Katy” by friends and relatives, also competed three years at Marina High School before transferring this year.

She was fatally injured Saturday when she lost control of her car and flipped on a curving stretch of Ortega Highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the First Christian Church, 1207 Main St., Huntington Beach.

Katy’s father said the memorial site was chosen for its 1,200-seat capacity, a nod to the large number of classmates from both schools expected to attend the service for the standout athlete and popular student.

“She touched so many people and reached out to so many,” Paul Homewood said Monday evening. “She had an uplifting presence and she was a natural leader.”

Homewood was a fixture on the sand of Huntington Beach, where she spent hours playing pickup games of volleyball, her father said. She pursued the sport with zeal, joining club leagues and drawing the attention of six Division I colleges for her accomplishments as a middle blocker in high school competition.

Despite knee injuries that ended her stint with the Marina High basketball team, Homewood was “a real tough, game kid” who brought out the best in her volleyball teammates, her father said. She also competed in track and field events, and was ranked among the top dozen Orange County girls in both shotput and discus events.

Her volleyball coach, Rocky Ciarelli, said the other 14 team members were hard hit by the loss. “It’s just hard for them to deal with,” he said. “It’s hard to accept.”

Authorities told the family that Homewood was passing a truck just before 6 p.m. on the winding Ortega Highway when the crash happened. Her right rear tire apparently drifted off the road onto the soft shoulder near mile marker 5, causing her to veer back sharply, her father said.

She is also survived by her mother, Sally Homewood, and 23-year-old brother, Chris. For more information on the memorial service, call (714) 536-2589.