Teen Memorialized Following Fatal Wreck

LONGVIEW � Cristian Monreal was remembered Thursday as a witty, comical and sometimes troublesome teenager by the Longview High School soccer coach for whom he was a midfielder. �I�m going to miss that boy�s face,� Coach James Wright said. �In athletics, it�s like a family. To lose one is incredibly hard. Cristian is going to be missed terribly this year.� A memorial for students was held in the High School parking lot at 10:15 Friday morning.

According to the Longview News-Journal, Monreal, 18, was killed and three other varsity soccer players were injured in a rollover wreck Wednesday about 200 yards from Longview High School. Police said Monreal�s teammate Jose Armando Corona, 17, was northbound on Airline Road when the truck ran off the roadway, overcorrected, traveled back across the road, hit a fence and rolled over, ejecting its three passengers. Corona was to be cited by police for unsafe speed over the limit, police said Thursday. The case was sent to the Gregg County District Attorney�s office for review. Monreal and Alex Aguirre, 18, were riding in the bed of the truck, police said. Eduardo Abarron, 17, was in the passenger seat.

Monreal was pronounced dead at the scene. The other passengers were taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center. All three had been released Thursday, said Wright, who spoke with them Thursday. Monreal�s body was sent to Tyler for an autopsy, police said.