Ariel Clark remembered

Ariel Hanrath-Clark died with his father, producer Bob Clark, in last week's head-on crash with an unlicensed, undocumented suspected drunk driver on Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. The father has gotten most of the notice, but I'm hearing from people who knew 22-year-old Ariel around town as a musician of promise and a practitioner of parkour. Here is his MySpace page, the page of his band, and parkour forums where he was recognized as a traceur. Here's an email from a friend of LA Observed:

Ariel hasn't received any coverage, but i think he deserves some. I met him 3 weeks ago at Venice Grind while he was jamming with my friend, Smokey Miles. Everyone on that coffee house patio saw a bright spark on the cusp of great things. If you kept your eyes open, you'd see a wide-eyed, sweet-smiled kid. Close your eyes, he sounded 40 years older as he blew on the harp and pounded out some boogie woogie and blues on his keyboard. That kid was so in the moment. Smokey and I can't believe that he's now under a pile of dirt.

Here's a YouTube video of Ariel Clark performing some of his moves. Hector Velazquez-Nava pleaded not guilty on Friday to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.