Teen Dies in Crash; Friend Injured

A popular Magnolia High School athlete was killed and his friend was injured early Sunday when the pickup they were in swerved off the road and hit a tree in Huntington Beach, police said.

Shawn Donald Mellen, 18, was driving a black Chevrolet S10 west on Edinger Avenue near Bonaire Circle about 1:30 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, Huntington Beach Sgt. Herb Cuadras said.

Mellen, of Stanton, and the 17-year-old passenger, whom police did not identify, were transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where Mellen died. The 17-year-old was in guarded condition Sunday with a head injury. Police said the teenager was suffering from amnesia and could not remember the accident.

“It was a miracle that he lived at all,” Cuadras said. “The passenger side, where he was at, took the brunt of the blow from the tree. God was there for him.”

Alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash, but Cuadras said Mellen might have been fatigued at that hour.

A preliminary check of the truck revealed no mechanical problems, he said.

Family members said Sunday that Mellen had been a star athlete at Magnolia High, where as a junior he had lettered in wrestling, track and football. This fall, he was slated to start as varsity cornerback.

“He was a good kid,” his father, Don Mellen, said between sobs, from the home Mellen shared with his 6-year-old stepbrother and 9-year-old stepsister. “He had so many friends.”

Don Mellen said his son was supposed to fly to Boston on Sunday for a three-week visit with his mother. Instead, Mellen’s mother will be flying to California for her son’s funeral, he said.

Magnolia wrestling coach John McCarthy said Sunday that Mellen had been not only a tough competitor but an inspiration to his teammates.

Mellen never let a lost match get him down, McCarthy said. “If he lost a match, it would be like ‘I’ll get the next one,’ or ‘I’ll be ready next time.’ ”

As a varsity wrestler last year, he had qualified for the southern section California Interscholastic Federation preliminary--no easy feat to accomplish, McCarthy said. Two weeks ago, Mellen placed in the top five at the Orange County Summer League Tournament at Valencia High School.

“It was a sign of things to come,” McCarthy said.

Earlier this year, McCarthy wrote in Mellen’s yearbook: “Shawn, you were a super addition to our team. Keep your same competitive attitude for next year and your record will be awesome and so will our team.”

The team will hold a memorial for Mellen once school starts, McCarthy said. “He had a lot of very close friends.”

Sunday, Becky Lake, 18, a friend of Mellen’s and a co-worker at Bally Total Fitness in Anaheim, one of two jobs Mellen worked, recalled how just seeing Mellen would lift her spirits.

“He would walk into work on his day off and I would just smile because I would be happy to see him. He was a real good guy,” she said.

The pair often goofed around, she said, throwing ice down each other’s shirts or trying to scuff each other’s new sneakers.

Mellen, who also worked at Knott’s Berry Farm, hoped to be a fitness trainer after graduation.

Lake said she last saw Mellen on Friday night, when he told her he had started training for a marathon by running 15 miles from his house to the beach.

“He said that sports is what kept him out of trouble,” Lake said.

Funeral arrangements have not been set. Family members ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to Magnolia High School’s athletic department in care of the school at 2450 W. Ball Road, Anaheim, CA 92802.