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The second Canyon High School graduate known to have been killed in a car crash in less than a month was due to graduate college in May, his father said Thursday.
"He was going to graduate Cal State San Marcos with a degree in criminal justice," Derek V. Millsap said of his son, former Santa Clarita Valley resident Derek Millsap, who died Tuesday in a crash on Interstate 15 in Escondido.
California Highway Patrol traffic investigators initially said Derek Millsap was racing another vehicle on the interstate. His father challenged the statement Thursday.
"It was not a racing issue," he said. "It was two cars jockying for position. We all do it," he said.
The investigation into Derek Millsap's death is still ongoing, but investigators believe the 22-year-old died after losing control of his 2011 Nissan 370Z while traveling on the southbound side of I-15 at 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, CHP officials said in a news release.
At some point after entering the I-15, Millsap's car crashed into a metal light pole on the shoulder of the road, crossed all lanes of the interstate, collided with the center divider, and came to rest in the high-occupancy-vehicle lane.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash, the release said.
Derek Millsap's autopsy was performed Wednesday. He died of multiple blunt-force injuries, San Diego County Corner's Office medical examiner Korletta Howrish said.
The Millsap family lived in the Santa Clarita Valley for about 20 years, Derek V. Millsap said, and his son kept in touch with several close friends here while he was living in Escondito.
"He was just up there a week or two ago," Derek V. Millsap said.
The younger Millsap graduated from Canyon High in 2007 and knew 19-year-old Dakota DeMott, another Canyon High graduate, who died after the Ford mustang he was riding in slammed into a tree on Sand Canyon Road earlier this month.
"Dakota DeMott was a friend of the family," Derek V. Millsap said. "He didn't attend Dakota's funeral, but he knew the story and he wasn't happy about it."
A vigil for Derek Millsap has been scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday at the Youth Grove in Central Park in Saugus.
The youth grove was constructed in 2006 and is dedicated to Santa Clarita youth who have died in traffic-related accidents, city official Tess Simgen said.
Since 1975, more than 82 SCV residents under the age of 24 have died as a result of car collisions. Eighty-two of their names are on display at the Youth Grove.
The crash that claimed the life of DeMott is still under investigation, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station Sgt. Mike Shapiro said Thursday.
The driver in that crash, Colt Doherty, 19, was no longer listed in critical condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital but was still hospitalized, Shapiro said. He has been at the hospital since the Jan. 10 crash.
