Escondido teenager who died in suspected drunk driving accident was a loyal Padres fan

Rodrigo David Tapia Jr. – known as Junior to his friends and family – lived his life around baseball. The 13-year-old played, watched and breathed the game, according to his oldest sister, Ana Lopez.

On April 27, one day before he was due to leave for a San Diego Padres game for his father’s birthday, Junior was killed in a car crash. Investigators say the accident was caused by his middle sister’s 20-year-old boyfriend, Alexander Tito Oroz.

Junior’s family buried him with some of his most prized possessions, including his XBox controller, his favorite bat, and a Padres jersey. In his hand, he held a baseball signed by his sister from his favorite player – Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.

“This is the life Junior ever wanted,” Lopez said. “Baseball, baseball, baseball.”

Oroz is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol when he collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Escondido. Lopez said the driver was allegedly reaching triple-digit speeds on city streets before the crash.

Oroz pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving in Vista Superior Court earlier this month.

After Junior’s death, his family remembers the straight-A student as someone who was deeply religious and had an encyclopedic knowledge of his favorite team, the Padres.

“His absolute favorite players were Manny Machado and Tatis Jr. – especially Tatis Jr. because the name was so similar to his last name,” Lopez said.

Junior Tapia slips to second place while playing in his Little League in Escondido.

(Courtesy of Ana Gonzalez)

When he was younger, Junior didn’t seek the limelight. Born prematurely, weighing 1.8 kilograms, he was adventurous but quiet and humble.

As he’s gotten older, Junior’s personality has grown, his sister said. He maintained a 3.8 grade point average at Quantum Academy in Escondido and devoted much of his social media to talking about his faith in God.

“He was always a little bit shy at first, but once he got to know you, he would light up and make you laugh,” Lopez said. “He saw you as a person, just as you were, and he never judged anyone.”

At heart, Junior was a student of the game he loved. He played outfielder for the Escondido National Little League and dreamed of going pro. He said if professional baseball didn’t work out, he would either want to be a Navy SEAL or join the Sheriff’s Department.

He and his grandmother watched every Padres pitch, rewound the biggest hits, and then recorded what they saw together. He memorized the names of the athletes, playing styles, and statistics — and even knew when Tatis returned from injury.

“Junior wrote on the calendar, ‘Tatis is coming back to baseball,'” Lopez said.

For all the love he had shown the team, the Padres returned the favor. Tatis and Machado not only provided Junior with signed balls for his funeral, but also provided Tatis with a signed jersey.

“I put it right next to him on his hip, along with his very first Padres jersey,” Lopez said.

The same day he would have gone to the game with his father, Junior would also have learned that he had made his Little League All-Star team.

In the month since his death, his family has also been preoccupied with legal proceedings and closely watching what would happen to the driver accused of killing the teenager. Junior’s other sister was also in the car when it crashed.

“My mom and my family are just so heartbroken. Because my sister and my brother told (Ortiz) to slow down, but he didn’t,” Lopez said.

“We’re just trying to figure out what we can do to get my little brother the justice he deserves,” she added.

A month later, her grandmother still watches baseball, but she doesn’t enjoy it the same way, Lopez said.

“Sometimes she’ll slip up and say, ‘Junior, did you see that?'” Lopez said. “We’re all lost… we don’t know how we’re going to carry on with this normal life now without our baby.”