‘I miss my boy so much.’ Family, friends mourn Fircrest teenager killed in car crash
A 19-year-old man who died last week in a two-car wreck caused by a suspected drunk driver in Fircrest has been identified. Relatives and friends said he was a fun-loving young man who had a bright future.
Matthew Nguyen died Nov. 18 of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office, when he was driving west on Emerson Street in a Honda Civic and was struck by another driver at the Alameda Avenue intersection. Nguyen’s 15-year-old sister was also in the car. She was transported to a hospital but was not seriously injured.
Bang Tran, Nguyen’s father, said the two were on their way to Safeway to get some ingredients so Nguyen could cook steak for dinner. It happened blocks from their Fircrest home, and Tran said they were gone for just a few minutes before he got a call from his daughter and ran to the scene.
Friends and family of Nguyen gathered at the intersection that night as word of the incident spread. Nick Cadle, 19, one in a group of four close friends of Nguyen, said he stayed until the Honda was towed away, and he was in shock for the rest of the night.
The young man’s sudden death has devastated those who knew Nguyen as a positive force who loved his family and lifted the spirits of those around him with a contagious laugh and well-cooked meals. Friends said he often liked to take spontaneous road trips in his car or motorcycle, sometimes wearing a Pikachu costume and getting smiles or photos with delighted strangers.
The tragedy clearly weighed heavily on Nguyen’s father. He said relatives and friends have been pouring into town to help out, but the last few days have been especially hard.
“I miss my boy so much,” Tran, 53, said.
After the wreck, a 50-year-old Spokane man was arrested and charged with DUI vehicular homicide. He’s accused of running a red light and driving at high speed. A woman in his car was injured.
The defendant was arraigned in court a day after the incident. Tran didn’t go to the hearing. He said he doesn’t know how to face the man, who pleaded not guilty and remains in custody at the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.
Nguyen was born in Tacoma and grew up in Fircrest. He attended Curtis High School, where he was on the swim team and played water polo. Nguyen graduated high school in 2023 then began college at Pacific Lutheran University. This year he was attending Tacoma Community College, where he was studying to become a nurse. Tran said he’d just finished a class to be a certified nurse assistant so he could support himself while finishing college.
“He just liked to help people,” Tran said.
Nguyen also worked as a lifeguard at the Morgan Family YMCA in Tacoma’s West End, where he met his girlfriend, Kaelin Miller. She was drawn to his lighthearted personality, and the two began dating when they went to prom together in June. Miller, 18, was in Pullman at Washington State University when she learned of the car wreck. She and her parents drove through last week’s storms, braving snow in the mountain passes to get back to Tacoma.
Miller said it feels like time has stopped for everyone who was close to Nguyen. She finds herself talking about him as if he’s still around and texting his cell phone. The two had plans to travel down to Oregon later this month for her birthday.
“It’s hard to turn 19 when you know that he’s never going to be anything but 19,” Miller said.
“It just feels like the impossible, just trying to figure out what we’re going to do without Matthew in our lives because he was my best friend and my boyfriend and my rock,” she said.
Nguyen’s close-knit group of friends — Cadle, Joe Carini, Tanner Bullock and Julian McCune — were similarly hurt. Most of them met through swim team in 9th grade, but Carini became friends with Nguyen in elementary school, and he said they were like brothers.
Carini, 19, recalled fond memories of fishing with Nguyen on Gravelly Lake, day trips to Seattle and running to Fred Meyer during the summer for Dr Pepper and watermelon. Similar memories came to mind for Cadle.
“We wouldn’t ever like have a distinct plan. We’d just do nothing together,” Cadle said.
Bullock said Nguyen was the one who would reach out to bring the group of friends together.
“He was always there for us, no matter what, and he pushed us in a good way to do better,” Bullock, 19, said. “He lived up to that himself. He was always putting in 100 percent of what he had that day and trying to be the best person he could.”
Friends of Nguyen’s family have started a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral costs, medical bills and attorney expenses. On Monday, it had raised $9,955.
Tran said there would be a viewing service all day Tuesday at Pope St. John XXIII Parish, 7025 Park Ave. S., Tacoma. There will be a funeral service at the church starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 5:15 AM.
