Anthony Rhoades, Community activist killed in morning crash in Victorville

VICTORVILLE, CALIF. (VVNG.com) — A community activist who sought political office in multiple election cycles for the City of Hesperia died in a vehicle crash early Saturday morning, the San Bernardino County Coroner confirmed.

Anthony Alexander Rhoades, 37, was driving north on Mariposa Road approaching Kingswood Drive at about 1:42 A.M., when for unknown reasons his vehicle drifted off the roadway causing his vehicle to roll multiple times, Victorville Police said in a statement.

Rhoades was ejected during the crash and was located lying in the roadway near the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The vehicle Rhoades was driving, a silver 2006 Lexus IS, was found with significant damage along the shoulder of the northbound I-15 Palmdale Road off-ramp.

Anthony Rhoades graduated from Hesperia High School in 2002, earned a political science degree in 2014 from the University of California, Riverside, and earned a master’s in public administration in 2019 from Arkansas State University and was pursuing a doctorate in public administration from California Baptist University in Riverside.

Most recently, Rhoades ran for the District 33 state Assembly seat in the March 2020 primary, but was unsuccessful.

“Anthony never gave up on trying to serve his community. He cared and was willing to put himself out there to better serve the people. Anthony was a great guy. He will be missed,” Real Estate agent and former Victorville City Councilwoman Angela Valles told Victor Valley News.

Rhoades was also a former chair of the Public Safety Commission who advocated for safer intersections and further research of traffic light intervals and the processes used to determine the method of reducing traffic accidents at local intersections.

“Anthony and I sat on the public safety committee for the city of Hesperia. Anthony was very proactive in seeking to make the city streets more safe via timing traffic lights. Anthony was politically proactive and an all-around great person,” stated Elected Member for Hesperia Recreation and Park District Kelly Gregg.

Rhoades was a single father and leaves behind a teenage son.

Anyone with information or anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to contact Deputy T. Wetzel at the Victorville Police Station 760-241-2911.

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Related Article: Driver ejected, killed after rollover crash on Mariposa Road in Victorville