Barstow teen killed in crash touched many

"You need to recognize all your weaknesses in the game and learn about yourself. Then you are able to build confidence and self-discipline.”
Jordan Lane, quoted in Barstow High School’s 2007 yearbook talking about tennis

BARSTOW -The day she died, 18-year-old Jordan Lane made a surprise visit to her mother and two younger siblings in Barstow. She went to Mass with the family, watched a movie, got her hair cut, washed cars with her sister and played tennis. At about 8:40 p.m., she got in her car to head back to California City, where she was living with her father and brother while studying at Antelope Valley College.

Lane was tired, her 14-year-old sister Jelena Gallegos said, so much so that she had fallen asleep in the back seat of the car she was cleaning earlier in the day. But she wanted to get back to California City so that she could get up for work in the morning.

She didn't make it to work the next morning. Her 1991 Honda Civic swerved into the oncoming lane on State Highway 58 and collided with a Dodge Caravan. Firefighters pronounced Lane dead at the scene. What caused her to swerve is unclear.

Her mother, Linda Gallegos and sister Jelena got nervous when Jordan never called to let them know she had arrived safely at her father's house. After calling to check in with Lane's father, Frank, they got in the car and began driving the route Jordan would have taken to get home. When they came across the scene of the accident, a highway patrol officer confirmed their fears, Jelena said.

It was a blow to many people, including her two older brothers, younger brother and sister, and friends of all ages.

For her father, Jordan's death cut off a process of getting reaquainted with his daughter after a divorce led to Jordan moving to Barstow with her mother eight years ago. During her time in Barstow, she made a wide circle of friends and got involved with activities from varsity tennis to the high school marching band. She graduated from Barstow High School in 2007 and moved back to California City to go to school.

"I was just getting to know her again," Frank Lane said. He called his daughter "Princess," and the two of them would play basketball together in the back yard. Neither of them was much good at it, but they always had a good time.

Getting to know Jordan could take a while but it was worth the effort, her brother Jarod, 21, said.

"If she didn't know you, she was really shy, but if she did, she'd talk and make you laugh," he said.

He remembered her as a good listener, a quality that may have led her to decide she wanted to be a child psychologist. Jordan, who had mentored younger children regularly while she was in high school, as well as being close with Jelena and her 7-year-old brother Demetrio.

Barstow High School teacher Suzan Kypriotis remembered that Jordan had a special passion for the subject of psychology, to the extent that she would ask for extra reading in her psychology class. Jordan loved to read almost anything, but she was especially fascinated by what motivated human behavior.

More than her academic record, Kypriotis remembered Jordan's open, loving personality.

"(Jordan) absolutely brought nothing negative to this world, and I haven't said that about many people," she said. "... I remember meeting her the first week, I was like, ‘Why is this kid so quiet? Is she shy?' Then she did all this dynamite work, and as I got to know her, she was playful and fun."

The playful side was what Alysse Stewart, who played with Jordan on the tennis team for two years, remembered best. Jordan would make jokes or do animal impressions to keep the team's spirits up, she said.

"She was extremely bubbly and always nice to everyone," Stewart said.

Still, Jordan was no pushover, Linda said. Even at a young age, she knew who she was, and no one, whether it was a school aquaintance, her older brother her boyfriend of two years Jose Miranda, was going to tell her what to do. The mixture of peaceful and tough, mature and childlike, was what made her daughter special, Linda said.

"She was an old soul with such a childlike demeanor," she said. "She was so responsible and mature, yet she could enjoy things from the view of a child. She was such a complete person."

A service will be held in Barstow at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Friday, with a visitation at 9 a.m., rosary at 10 a.m. and Mass at 11 a.m. A second memorial will be held at Mojave Foursquare Church in Mojave at 10 a.m. the following day. The family plans to set up a memorial fund at Mojave Desert Bank. Contributions can be mailed to the Jordan Lane Fund c/o Mojave Desert News, 8046 California City Blvd. Ste. B, California City, CA 93505.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or abby_sewell@link.freedom.com