Police identified the body of Cal Poly physics freshman Osvaldo Ponce in his car March 16 on the last day of finals before spring break, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD).
A coroner’s examination later determined that Ponce’s death was a suicide.
Interim vice president of student affairs Preston Allen sent an email to students on Monday expressing the university’s sadness over Ponce’s death and urged students affected by the loss or depression to seek help at the Counseling Center or from resources such as the Mayo Clinic or National Suicide Hotline.
“As we re-open the campus, it is important as a community that we continue on but never forget what a difference each person makes in the lives of others,” Allen wrote in the email.
Ponce was first found by a construction worker who noticed handmade hazardous chemical warning signs in the window of the car, parked in lot R2, University Police Department (UPD) chief Bill Watton said. The worker saw that someone was unresponsive inside the vehicle, Watton told reporters at the scene.
The individual then called UPD, who dispatched an officer, Watton said.
When the officer determined the person inside was deceased, UPD called in the San Luis Obispo Fire Department, County of San Luis Obispo Environmental Health Services and the San Luis Obispo County Hazardous Materials Team.
“We backed up from that point with the hazardous gases that may be present with the owner and the signs,” Watton said on scene.
The different departments then tested the scene and discovered a small container of hydrogen sulfide in the car. The gas is “colorless, flammable, extremely hazardous gas with a ‘rotten egg’ smell,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website.
Hydrogen sulfide, known as swamp gas, occurs naturally in crude petroleum, natural gas, hot springs and from the bacterial breakdown of wastes and can be extremely hazardous in high levels, according to the OSHA website.
The parking lot itself was closed off for several hours, along with parking lots G1, G2 and G4 and parts of Slack Street, which borders the campus. Authorities then determined the threat to students, who had to their trips home for spring break postponed. During this time, authorities told students only that there may be hazardous chemicals on the scene and that they could not have access to their cars, biological sciences freshman Cayla Clark said.
Clark took her suitcase to her friend’s car after her last Friday final, and was soon asked to leave by an officer who was clearing the lot, she said.
“They were like, ‘Get in your car or else you’re going to be trapped here for hours,’” Clark said.
Clark, who didn’t have the keys to her friend’s vehicle, took her suitcase to the sidewalk bordering parking lot R2 and waited there for several hours before the parking lot was cleared for students again.
A memorial program is planned for Ponce on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Yosemite residence hall, followed by a candlelight awareness vigil at 7:30 p.m.