Jason Allen Siebert, 32


Jason Allen Siebert, 32,
Long Beach, formerly of Fresno/Clovis
A blog set up in celebration of his life can be found at 
www.jasonsiebert.blogspot.com

(Amanda Taylor)

Victim sang passionately for the arts

By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/12/2008 


LONG BEACH - Jason Allen Siebert lived for the arts.

Whether it was performing dinner theater on the Queen Mary, playing Goofy at Disneyland or bringing music to schools through the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Siebert was passionate about performance.

"It was just as much an avocation as a vocation," said friend Jason Holland. "The arts were part of his life, and he shared it with everyone."

Siebert, a 32-year-old La Habra resident, was killed in a car collision Saturday when a suspect fleeing from a police officer broadsided his 1998 BMW convertible.The suspect, 22-year-old Cody Adam Brown of Long Beach, has been charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and evading causing death. Brown is scheduled to be arraigned in Long Beach Superior Court on Dec. 23.

Court records show Brown was arrested for driving under the influence once before in April 2007. The charges were dismissed when he paid fines and completed a drunken driving education class, records show.

At about 2 a.m. Saturday, an officer spotted Brown driving a 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck through a red light at the corner of Bellflower Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway.

Brown headed south on Bellflower, swung a right on Colorado Street and continued to blow through stop signs and street lights, police said. He continued west on Fourth Street at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, with the officer following several blocks behind, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.


The police chase ended when Brown's truck plowed into Siebert's southbound BMW at Redondo Avenue. The truck also collided with a taxicab heading eastbound on Fourth Street.

Lt. Josef Levy said a preliminary investigation revealed that the officer followed police protocol. "Based on preliminary details, this driver posed a threat when he failed to yield," Levy said. "We have an obligation under these circumstances to apprehend the suspect."

Once an officer initiates a chase, the officer must call a supervisor to make a decision on whether or not to continue, Levy said. Deciding factors including time of day, weather,

population and if the driver appears to be a danger. In this case, the chase lasted a matter of minutes and the officer did not have time to call a supervisor, Pratt said. Friends said Siebert's loss is devastating to the Southern California theater community. For the past five years, he worked in the Orange County Performing Arts Center's education department, in charge of organizing theater performances at schools.

"He was an amazing talent and passionate advocate for the arts," said Orange County Performing Arts Center director Terry Dwyer. Siebert's background was in singing and acting, and he performed on the Queen Mary in Tibbies Great American Cabaret, played a butler in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and worked as different characters at Disneyland.

"The biggest thing about Jason was how bright and friendly he was and how easy he was to work with," said Todd Vigiletti of Star Gazer Productions, which owns Tibbies. "It shows you, as much as we plan for our lives, we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow."

Best friend Joe Maioriello, who first met Siebert at Biola University in La Mirada, said the two bonded over being gay and growing up in religious families.

Born and raised in Fresno, Siebert grew up in a family of Mennonites, an Anabaptist Christian denomination, his friend said.

"The big struggle of his life was rectifying his choices as a gay man and his religious background," Maioriello said. Siebert was accepted by his family, and eventually came to terms with his religion, his friend said. "He always showed his family a great example of healthy relationships," Maioriello said. Maioriello said he was amazed by how many people Siebert touched. "His arms stretched so much wider than I ever imagined," he said.

On the night of his death, Maioriello said, Siebert went dancing with friends at Executive Suite on Pacific Coast Highway. After the nightclub closed, Siebert went driving down Redondo, likely toward Shore House Cafe on Second Street to get a plate of nachos - his favorite way to end an evening out.

"He always drives in his car with music blaring, singing at the top of his lungs," his friend noted.

On that night, Maioriello said, a witness in another vehicle glanced over at Siebert, just before the light turned green. The witness said Siebert had been singing.

Services for Jason Siebert are open to the public and will be held Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

News Stories

Jason Siebert, a Fresno Christian High School graduate who was active in Southern California theater, was killed Saturday as a bystander in a police chase, his family confirmed this week. Siebert's mother, Debbie Siebert, is the superintendent of Fresno Christian Schools.

Siebert, 32, was struck by a pickup driven by Cody Brown, 22, of Long Beach, who was fleeing Long Beach police at speeds approaching 100 mph, according to a published report in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Officers told the newspaper that Brown's truck sped through red lights and stop signs, struck Siebert's car at an intersection, then hit a taxi.

Long Beach police arrested Brown on suspicion of manslaughter and reckless and impaired driving, according to the Long Beach newspaper. Long Beach police did not return several calls seeking additional details. Services for Jason Siebert will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Clovis Hills Community Church.

Grand jury to hear murder case, click here.

Links to other stories, click here.