Family and friends on Monday were remembering a California high school senior with a promising future who drowned Saturday afternoon, just two weeks before he was set to graduate as class valedictorian.
Neng Thao, 18, was swept away in the San Joaquin River in Fresno, hours after attending his older brother’s college graduation. Neng and his cousins had planned to go for a swim between family celebrations taking place throughout the day.
Neng was pulled away in the river’s fast current, which officials described as its highest level in years due to a rainy winter, Fox 26 reported.
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Neng was a top academic scholar, his family said.
“He had so many awards waiting for him at the ceremony,” Neng’s brother, Touyee Thao told KSEE. “And now we won’t get to see him at his graduation.”
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Neng was active in several organizations, and worked with Fresno Mayor Lee Brand as a mayoral appointee with the city’s Youth Commission.
“This is a heartbreaking loss for our entire community,” Brand said in a statement. “Neng made a positive impact on everyone he met and we are all deeply saddened by the news of this tragic loss.”
“He was very promising,” Touyee said of his brother. “A leader in the community and a potential leader in the future.”
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