Transito "Tito" Torres (right) poses with fellow CU Proud Award recipients from Fall 2008 Emily Renaud and Andrew Samborski. Torres was killed in an accident on U.S. 36 Thursday night. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Kinde/CU Parent Vol 14. No. 2)
CU students remember Transito (Tito) Torres (22) as an RA and a friend they could always turn to for help and advice.
Torres died Thursday night due to injuries sustained on U.S. 36. He apparently jumped into traffic from the Table Mesa Drive overpass, according to the Boulder Police Department.
Jessica Schwab, a 19-year-old sophomore open-option major at Naropa who was previously a CU student, said Torres was one of the most open-minded people she has ever met.
“He was my RA when I lived in Buckingham last year with SHIP,” Schwab said. “He was sincere and incredibly compassionate. I just cannot say enough about his character. He was such an incredibly beautiful person in every way.”
Adam Zwain, a 23-year-old CU alumnus, also expressed high regard for Torres.
“Any time I ever had a problem, whether it be the nonsensical ramblings of a rebellious college student or a deep reflection about life, he would have the perfect response, as if he was always one step ahead of me,” Zwain said. “This is completely unbelievable. He will be in my thoughts forever.”
Lauren Hu, a 19-year-old sophomore international affairs major, said Torres was one of the first people she met coming into CU, and he helped her adjust to her new life.
“He helped me to adjust and get comfortable in the new atmosphere and introduced me to the world of ultimate frisbee,” Hu said.
Mackenzie Merrick, a 19-year-old sophomore French major, remembered Torres’s openness and compassion toward everyone.
“He was full of compassion and tolerance for all people, regardless of their age, race, sexual orientation or anything else that might make them different from the rest of society,” Merrick said.
Hu mainly recalled Transito as someone she could turn to whenever she needed help, no matter what the problem was.
“The entire time I lived with Tito, I always felt like I had a big brother who was willing to stick up for me in a fight and who could give me a big hug and tell me just what I needed to hear when I was feeling down,” Hu said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lindsay Mullineaux at Lindsay.mullineaux@colorado.edu.
