Dr. Adela Santana-Mullooly was a professor of anthropology at Clovis Community College and Fresno State.
The crash occurred at approximately 10:20 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2 on Watts Valley Road east of Pittman Hill Road. Santana-Mullooly was heading west on a two-lane road when a 45 year old driver of an Acura NSX was going east where the driver tried to “negotiate a curve” according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Salas who said the action caused the driver to “veer into the westbound lane directly into the path of the bicyclist”.
According to a press release sent out by Clovis Community College, college President Dr. Lori Bennet said she would forever remember Santana-Mullooly’s “bright smile and contagious enthusiasm,” and shared how Santana-Mullooly “loved teaching”.
Bennet said Santana-Mullooly “…cared deeply about her students and was truly honored to be part of the Clovis Community College family.”
According to an article from The Collegian, Dr. Elizabeth Lowham, Dean of the College of Social Sciences shared a message about the passing of Santana-Mullooly.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the sudden death of Dr. Adela Santana-Mullooly over the weekend. In addition to being a long-time, valued colleague in the Anthropology Department at Fresno State, [she] was an avid cyclist and a vibrant presence in the lives of many within the College of Social Sciences and across the university and community,” Lowham said.