Funeral Set for Angeles Crest Highway Crash Victim

Andrew Mander Searcy was driving back to La Mirada after visiting his family when his car plunged 300 feet off Angeles Crest Highway at Mt. Gleason Road on Monday. He was 25. 

Searcy, who worked at Kaiser Permanente, planned to marry fiance Kristina Strother on March 9 and expected a baby girl on June 1, said Searcy's aunt and godmother Margaret Lunsford. 

"He had such a bright smile," Lunsford said. "He wanted to become a LAPD officer. He loved the color yellow. Many family members are going to wear yellow in his memory on Saturday." 

Searcy's family will hold a memorial noon Saturday at Joshua Memorial Park and Mortuary, 808 East Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster. 

Searcy went missing Sunday and  Sheriff's deputies from the Norwalk Station used a helicopter to trace Searcy's route and found the vehicle crashed, the La Canada Valley Sun reported. 

According to a CHP accident report, investigators concluded that Searcy was driving southbound on Angeles Forest Highway, south of Aliso Canyon Road and Mt. Gleason Road, when he lost control of his vehicle. His car then plunged down a 300 foot embankment and came to rest on its roof, investigators wrote.

Sheriff's Air 5 located Searcy's vehicle and lowered a paramedic who pronounced him dead, said Reserve Chief Mike Leum of Montrose Search and Rescue Team.

"The Montrose team performed the body recovery, which took many hours due to the complexity of the car’s location," Leum said.