Arzola enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after graduating from Westfield High School in 2008.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 1:34 this afternoon.
WESTFIELD – Westfield High School graduate Christopher Arzola was remembered Thursday as a great person and friend to everyone.
“He was really a nice guy. He was friends with a lot of people and he would talk to anyone,” said fellow classmate Bianca A. Mirabelli, a member of the class of 2008.
Arzola, 21, was one of three U.S. Marines killed in an automobile accident Tuesday morning near Camp Pendleton, Calif. where he was stationed. He was a corporal, responsible for installation, operation and maintenance of computer-based information systems.
He had enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2008 and assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
The one-car accident occurred in Dana Point, killing Arzola and fellow Marines Cp. Jason Chleborad, 22, of Rapid City, S.D. and Sgt. Jeremiah Callahan, 23, of Chadron, Neb.. The driver, who was not identified by police, was listed in critical condition at an area hospital, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reported Thursday.
Westfield High School principal Raymond K. Broderick called Arzola’s death “a shame. He whole career was ahead of him.”
The principal characterized Arzola as a “nice young man and good student.”
The cause of the accident remains under investigation but the sheriff’s department said alcohol and unsafe speed were the main contributors to the 2 a.m. crash involving a tree.
Funeral arrangements at Frition Adams Funeral Home on Broad Street were incomplete Thursday afternoon.