By
Ryan Gabrielson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA freshman dreamed of becoming a pilot
UA student James Thomas Haley will be remembered as a charismatic, devoted person who could always make those around him laugh, said friends and instructors.
"He had a very extensive, expanding circle of friends," said Cmdr. Frank Randolph, who was Haley's counselor in the University of Arizona's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Haley, 19, was killed Monday morning when he failed to yield at a stop sign while traveling westbound on East First Street and collided with the front end of a tow truck traveling on North Cherry Avenue.
He was not wearing a helmet and died from head trauma incurred from the collision, said Bruce Parks, clinical assistant professor of pathology.
"He just kind of made everyone laugh," said Andy Collins, an undeclared sophomore and member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Phi Delta Theta's president, Adrian Ortiz, said Haley fit in well with his fraternity brothers.
"He was as much of a brother as any active has been," said Ortiz, physiological sciences junior. "He brightened up our house and will forever be remembered."
Haley, an aerospace engineering freshman, came to the UA last spring and became involved in the Naval ROTC program.
Described by some of his friends as a "thrill-seeker," Haley's career goal was to become a pilot.
"He wanted to be a naval aviator," Randolph said. "He really threw himself into it."
Haley had just received a scholarship from the program this semester.
After spending his freshman year of high school at Prescott High School, Haley transferred to Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix.
Haley was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., but opted to take a semester off and enroll at the UA in the spring, said Tim Otten, a business management sophomore and Haley's roommate at the fraternity house.
Most of his summers were spent working for his father's construction company - Haley Construction, Otten added.
The family declined to comment.
The Haley family will be accepting donations at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity to aid them in paying for the funeral.
The Phi Delta Theta fraternity house, 1745 E. Second Street, will also host a memorial service for Haley next Monday at 6 p.m. that will include a barbecue and a chance for his friends and acquaintances to talk about him.
Services will take place tomorrow at the Sacred Heart Church in Prescott at 2 p.m.
