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Patrick Netter
Student dies in motorcycle accident
By Sheila Sanchez
Campbell resident Patrick Jeremy Netter was killed March 2 in a collision with a minivan on a twisting mountain road in northern Santa Cruz County.
Netter was riding his Honda CBR 600 motorcycle when the accident occurred.
The 18-year-old West Valley College student was heading north on Highway 9 Saturday afternoon, when he apparently lost control on a right-hand curve and slid into the path of a van, a 1993 Volkswagen, according to the California Highway Patrol.
"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the death of one of our students," said Brenda Brown, a spokeswoman for the college, in a written statement.
The driver of the van and two passengers, including a 4-year-old, were not injured.
Patrick's parents, Harold "Hal" and Carol Netter, held a memorial service to honor their son's life March 9 at the Westgate Community Bible Church, 1735 Saratoga Ave., in San Jose. He was interred at OakHill Cemetery in San Jose.
The Netters asked Patrick's friends to contribute memories of their son on written signed 3-by-5 note cards and mail them to their home on Orestes Way in Campbell or bring them to the memorial service.
Patrick was born May 2, 1983, in San Jose. He attended elementary school in Cupertino. In 1991, the Netters moved to Campbell.
Patrick was an active student at Westmont High School. He graduated in June of 2001 and was attending West Valley College, studying general education classes. In high school he was a member of the cross-country and swim teams. He liked studying history and English and his senior project for his English class was about motorcycles, which were his passion.
"He wanted to get a motorcycle when he was in high school," Hal Netter said. "So he purchased a used Yamaha model. Then he started saving money to buy a new Honda motorcycle, which he accomplished and enjoyed very much. He actually wrecked the first one and then got a replacement, later.
"Motorcycles were his life," Hal added. "He loved the way the motorcycle would lean over and how he felt when he was turning. He wanted to go on the racetrack and race motorcycles. That was one of his ambitions."
Patrick enjoyed a special relationship with his older sister, Jennifer, 22. "They loved to be together during family activities. They were both on the swim team," Netter said.
West Valley spokeswoman Brown said the Netters asked Patrick's friends to recall happy times when thinking of Patrick and to "rest assured that he is in a peaceful place with God and his grandparents," she said.
The accident happened about 3 p.m., north of upper Highway 236, near the San Mateo County line. At the time of the tragedy, Patrick was wearing a helmet, a full racing leather suit, with boots and gloves.
Patrick is survived by his parents, sister, grandparents Gerald and Marge Bein, Sr., great-grandmother Audrey Menn, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Anyone interested in making donations to honor Patrick's life can do so by contributing to the Young Life Ministry, the West Gate Bible Church camp fund or the YMCA Splash camp/water safety program in Campbell.
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Campbell, California
