Half Moon Bay mayor's son dies in motorcycle accident

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The 28-year-old son of the mayor of Half Moon Bay died in a motorcycle accident this weekend, leaving his family devastated. 

"There is no way of saying how I feel," Joaquin Jimenez-Urena, Half Moon Bay's mayor, told KTVU on Sunday. "Nothing compares to this." 

His son, Joaquin Dominik Jimenez Alvarado, was killed Saturday while riding a motorcycle in unincorporated San Mateo County.

He crashed with a pickup truck at Highway 1 and Mirada Road around 5:45 p.m., according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. 

A volunteer firefighter was in the area and attempted to conduct emergency CPR on the motorcyclist, according to the sheriff. 

But the young man did not survive.

The driver of the pickup remained at the collision and has so far been cooperative with the investigation, the sheriff said. 

Jiminez-Urena said that his son had been in San Francisco with his girlfriend, Nancy. 

The two were driving back to Half Moon Bay together; Nancy was in a car and his son was on his motorcycle.

"He loved to ride his motorcycle," Jimenez-Urena said.

Nancy was the one to call him with the news.

Jimenez-Urena said his son was a "good boy," who didn't drink or smoke. 

He was a maintenance engineer and worked at the Chase Center in San Francisco, among other facilities.

Friends created a memorial for him in Half Moon Bay with pictures of his friends and a toy Harley Davidson motorcycle. 

"He's just a great dude," said friend Hajime Tai of Pacifica. "He's part of a big group of the motorcycle community. He's very friendly, very smart. Everybody loved him." 

Friends are still in shock. "I just wanted to come down and officially pay my respects." 

Joaquin was a leader of this close-knit motorcycle group, bonded by love for rides and the open road. 

"He's the one guy who'd come up next to you and check out your bike with you. Talk about your dyna. Talk about his," said Jason Hemerka, a friend from Oakland. 

Friends say Joaquin had been planning an upcoming ride to Los Angeles for a motorcycle show. 

"He was one of the important leaders of the group. And we were looking forward to it," said Tai. "I guess we just have to ride for him, moving forward." 

"It's just tough, you know," Hemerka said. "When you're riding next to somebody for like seven to eight hours a day and then they're not there the next day you know? So it's just tough." 

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office on Sunday offered their condolences. 

"Our hearts and thoughts are with Mayor Jimenez and his entire family during this time of unimaginable loss. No one is ever prepared for such unexpected tragedies, and when they strike so close to home, they affect us all profoundly," Sheriff Christina Corpus' statement read. "As a community, let us come together to support the Jimenez family and lift them up with our love and strength."

City councilmembers and city staff also said they are grieving this loss. 

"Joaquin Dominik was an integral part of the Half Moon Bay community, having grown up on the Coastside. He worked as a Union Stationary Engineer in San Francisco, loved photography, and enjoyed spending time with his friends and family," city officials said in a written statement. 

Jiminez Alvarado is survived by his father, the first Mexican-born mayor of Half Moon Bay, his mother, Veronica, and his 21-year-old sister, Myla. 

In 2020, Jimenez-Urena was elected as the first Mexican immigrant to serve on the Half Moon Bay City Council. 

He has been an advocate and organizer for the community for over 20 years. He also used to be the farmworker program director for Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, a Half Moon Bay-based non-profit cultural and social services organization. 

After farmworkers were killed in a 2023 mass shooting on a mushroom farm, Jimenez-Urena was a vocal advocate to change the deplorable living conditions for others in San Mateo County. 

On Monday, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office investigators surveyed the crash site and took additional measurements and analyzed the roadway. 

A Rosary and funeral service will likely be held next week.