Loyola High School tennis star, ‘a shining presence,’ killed in Manhattan Beach crash; DUI suspect arrested

Just last month, Loyola High School in Los Angeles celebrated senior Braun Levi for moving into the top national ranks of boys tennis.

The 18-year-old bagged another victory just days ago, winning the Mission League doubles championship. In a photo, the beaming Levi stands beside teammate Cooper Schwartz, holding up four fingers — one for each of his four straight league doubles championships.

Those achievements had to be a bit of a balm for the Levi family, coming just a few months after their home in Pacific Palisades burned in the January firestorm. The family had relocated to the South Bay.

It felt beyond comprehension, then, when Loyola Principal Jamal Adams emailed students and staff of the Catholic Jesuit school Sunday to inform them that Levi had been killed in a traffic accident just hours earlier, a month before his high school graduation.

“Braun was a shining presence in our Loyola family,” Adams wrote, “bringing light, joy, and inspiration to everyone he touched.”

The principal invited the Loyola school family to a prayer vigil on campus Sunday evening. “All members of our community are welcome to join us as we gather in unity and remembrance,” Adams wrote.

Manhattan Beach police said they had arrested a 33-year-old Los Angeles woman on suspicion of drunk driving and homicide in connection with the crash, which they said occurred after midnight Sunday morning.

A brief news release from the department said only that a call came in at 12:46 a.m. about a traffic accident involving a pedestrian in the 100 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard. They found the victim, whom they did not identify, lying in the street.

The police statement said that Jenia Belt of Los Angeles had been arrested in the crash. Belt remained in the Manhattan Beach jail Sunday, a police watch commander said.

Friends showered Levi’s social media accounts with tributes to him. Levi was to attend the University of Virginia in the fall.

“Anyone who got to know you knows how lucky they are,” said one message. “You never met a stranger, and left an impact on everyone you met. I’m going to live and love as big as you every day.”

Said another: “Whether you were lucky enough to cross paths with him for an hour or a lifetime, he left an impression. It was impossible to be sad or bored whenever Braun was around, and his gift for lifting those around him was truly singular.”

The images from Levi’s social media hint at a prototypical Southern California upbringing. He’s wading in a High Sierra lake with his family, arm-in-arm with buddies on the beach, posing for a selfie with actor Adam Sandler and rocking a pink suit and a fedora beside a horse racing track.

Just two years ago, another Loyola High student-athlete died in the final weeks of his high school career. Ryan Times, a pitcher on the baseball team, was struck and killed by a train in April of 2023, when the school was on spring break.

Brian Held, coach of the Loyola varsity tennis team, called Levi, a three-year captain, “probably the most decorated player to ever play for the school.”

Held also taught Levi in AP Economics and Statistics. “We are all stunned, devastated and heartbroken with this tragedy,” Held said via email. “Braun was the most amazing, all-around leader, whom everyone loved, even his opponents. He was just that type of kid — unique and special. As one of his teachers, I witnessed how he brought joy to everyone.”

Levi is survived by his parents and an older sister.

Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.