Procession held for 19-year-old La Puente Marine killed in Australia aircraft crash

WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) -- A procession was held Friday night for a La Puente Marine who died with two other service members in an aircraft crash in Australia earlier this month.

Lance Cpl. Ruben Velasco, 19, died on Aug. 5 when the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft he and two other marines were flying crashed off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

According to a GoFundMe page, the aircraft struck the stern of a ship and went into the ocean. There were 26 Marines onboard and 23 of them were rescued. Velasco and his family had celebrated his 19th birthday only days before the crash, the page said.

Capt. Benjamin R. Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine, and Cpl. Nathaniel F. Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kansas, were the other two Marines killed in the crash.

Velasco had graduated from West Covina High School in 2016. News of his death hit the community hard, especially for Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies at the Industry Station.

The department said Velasco participated in activities that were run by the station's Youth Activities League, and he joined the flag football league in 2007.

Deputies from the station along with various other law enforcement agencies assisted the U.S. Marine Corps to escort Velasco's body to Rose Hills Cemetery and Memorial Park and Mortuary in Whittier.

The procession started around 8 p.m., traveling from Los Angeles International Airport through the 105 and 605 freeways to the cemetery.

The GoFundMe page had surpassed its goal of $5,000, which was created to help pay for his funeral expenses.