Recruiter Who Died in Bus Crash Passed Up Flight to be With Students

A bus carrying aspiring college students was involved in a fatal crash on Thursday in Orland

Krystle Arzola says her husband was dedicated to helping young people get into college, especially those who would be the first in their families to attend, just as he was.

Art Arzola turned down an offer to fly to Humboldt State University so he could ride on the bus with 44 other high school students who were planning to visit the campus.

Arzola, 26, of Rancho Cucamonga, was one of the 10 who died in the head-on crash with a FedEx truck in the Northern California city of Orland.

“He said, ‘No, I want to be with these kids on this bus,’” his wife said. “That’s a long bus ride and I want to be with these kids.”

Messages from students her husband mentored are helping Krystle get through each day, along with her faith.

Krystle Arzola said her husband was living his life’s passion.

“His job was not to tell these students if they could go to college, it was to show them how to get there,” she said.

Added Arthur’s mother, Patricia Arzola: “That was his vision. He wanted to say, ‘Hey, you have a shot. You can do it, too.’

“This is a really tough time for everyone."

The young couple shared a strong faith. Her husband's final journal entry are notes from a church service he attended four days before he died.

“He wrote this in bold,” his wife said. “Storms don't last forever and remember that God will be with us throughout the storm."

Some $15,400 had been raised by Tuesday afternoon on the website gofundme to help pay for the funeral, set for Friday.

On Wednesday, mourners were planning a vigil at the University of La Verne Arzola, where Arzola was a graduate student.

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