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# Loved ones remember Southside skater
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/loved-ones-remember-southside-skater/
- Published: 2008-09-09T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:56:52.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*A true Southsider*

*By CHRISTINA WALKER Special to the Daily Press*

OCEAN PARK Candles flickered on the sidewalk of Fifth Street and Hollister Avenue Monday afternoon as people gathered by Los Amigos Park to remember the man in the pictures smiling and surrounded by friends.

Jerseys, a soccer ball, and a skateboard that said Tom Slick were all possessions that reminded family and friends of the man they had known and loved, Thomas Patrick Caffrey.

Caffrey, who was born in Santa Monica and attended local schools, died early Saturday morning when he fell off his skateboard while riding down a steep section of Hollister.

Caffrey maintained close friendships since kindergarten. Last Friday night he played soccer and then went out to party with some of those longtime friends. After eating Jack in the Box, he and other close friends, including Brandon Leivas, gathered just up the hill from Fifth and Hollister around 3 a.m. to chat.

Leivas said that Caffrey and another friend skated down the hill in the dark and came back unscathed. Caffrey was known to skate down this same hill as many as three to four times a day. Leivas did not see Caffrey go down the hill a final time, but was alerted that something was wrong when another friend yelled that Caffrey had fallen down hard.

“I jumped in my car and drove to the bottom of the hill,” Leivas said.“I called 911 and followed the instructions they gave me turning him to his side. We were all screaming, ‘I love you. You can make it.’”

Leivas later learned that Caffrey was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Friends and family at the memorial site remembered Caffrey as a happy man with many friends who had a passion for sports and pride in his community.

“He was so loyal,” said Kelly Caffrey, Thomas Caffrey’s sister. “He was so charismatic, dedicated to being a friend to so many people, honest, trustworthy, a ton of fun. He was the center of fun and made sure everyone around him was having fun too.”

Leivas also remembered Caffrey as a person filled with positivity.

“He always had humor and a smile on his face,” Leivas said. “If he was ever in a bad mood he’d just start talking about something else.”

Caffrey, who celebrated his 24th birthday just over two weeks ago on Aug. 23, was working two jobs and supporting his mom before he passed. Caffrey worked at Tony P’s in Marina del Rey and at Bourget Brothers, family members said.

Next Saturday friends plan to throw a fundraiser at the Cock ‘n Bull Pub just off of Lincoln Boulevard to help Caffrey’s mother Madeline McCusker, who recently lost her job.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 9, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090908.pdf?ref=smdp.com)