Ocean Beach Army veteran dies after collapsing at Coronado half marathon

Scottie Williams, a U.S. Army veteran and Ocean Beach resident, lived with intention, his family said Friday. When the 28-year-old said he’d do something — like finishing a job or committing to hanging out with someone — he’d do it.

On Sunday, he approached the Silver Strand Half Marathon with that same level of commitment, strongly finishing the race in the same fashion he had completed so many other half marathons before. But after crossing the finish line and receiving his medal, the seemingly healthy Williams collapsed and died.

“It was a normal day,” said Sarah Lloyd, his older sister. “And then he just collapsed. They worked on him for a long time, and they just couldn’t bring him back.”

“We don’t have any answers,” she added.

The sisters said the cause of death will be released by the Medical Examiner’s Office in six to eight months following the completion of an autopsy.

Lloyd and her older sister, Kimberly Huereque, described their little brother as a Renaissance man. After graduating from Sherman E. Burroughs High School in Kern County in 2015, he joined the Army and served overseas in Syria and Korea.

After being honorably discharged, Williams bounced around and worked a couple of odd jobs — from installing telephone poles in Nebraska to working on ski lifts in Mammoth — before he finally settled down in Ocean Beach, where he thrived as an electrician.

“He loved the beach, he liked to fish, he surfed,” Huereque said. “He set his roots down in San Diego … and it was his neighborhood.”

Williams enjoyed walking to his favorite coffee places, breakfast spots or the grocery store. He made friends through his hobbies and shared them with his girlfriend, Bree Rivera, who was with him when he collapsed, Lloyd said.

“They were very happy and deeply in love, with plans to get married and spend their lives together,” said Lloyd. “She brought happiness to our brother before he passed.”

Williams found success wherever he went — whether it be professionally or by quickly making personal connections — because he was “purposeful” in everything he did, his sisters said.

“He was intentional — from his phone calls and texts home to his gift-giving to everything,” Huereque said. “He made the people in his life know that they were loved in a distinct way.”

Williams was described as a beloved member of his family, “the apple of his mom’s eye,” and a great uncle to his nieces and nephews.

His death has made his siblings vow to be more intentional themselves.

“If you want to pick up the phone and call somebody, just do it,” Lloyd said. “Scotty lived that way, and I’m going to try my best to start living a little bit more like that.”

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for funeral expenses and support Rivera.