Third funeral in one week for Jávea sports club

JOSÉ Antonio Albi Valero, 28, and his girlfriend were doing up a family cottage to move into together, and the electronics graduate from Valencia University had just won another fistful of trophies at a triathlon in Jávea – in fact, life could not have been in a brighter place for the fit young manual worker who was fond of saying that 'achieving what you want depends entirely on you'.

And it was precisely at this happy moment of his life that it ended on the N-332 in Oliva, when he and his close friends Edu Monfort Gassent, 28, and Luis Alberto Contreras, 53, were also killed by a driver four times over the alcohol limit and dosed up with cocaine.

José Antonio was found in cardiac arrest at the scene and flown to La Fe Hospital in Valencia with critical brain injuries.

Surgery to drain fluid from his brain and relieve the pressure on his vital organ was carried out and he was placed under deep sedation, but his parents, brother and girlfriend were warned there was nothing more, clinically, that could be done for him.

The rest was up to José Antonio himself and, even though his motto had always been “If you're going to doubt anything, doubt your own limits”, his loved ones already knew that his limits had been reached.

Although their son was breathing, he was not responding to brain stimuli, and it appeared there was no brain activity – a no-return situation.

Doctors gradually withdrew the sedation to see what the extent of his brain injury was, but had already warned it was so severe there was probably no hope.

And he passed away on Thursday morning, four days after the crash.

José Antonio worked in an excavation and dismantling firm and was part of the filà Ballesters at the Moors and Christians along with his great friend Edu, who also lost his life in the collision.

He was described as active in mind and body, living for the moment and always optimistic, seeking the best out of any situation.

The young cyclist, swimmer and runner had spent his university Erasmus scholarship year in Italy, and his friends say he was 'tremendously positive' and 'an example' to everyone in 'how to overcome all obstacles'.

Over 200 cyclists from TriLlebeig, the triathlon team at Llebeig Athletics Club, and from other sports groups across the region accompanied José Antonio's coffin on Saturday morning.

Club Llebeig members and the local sports community are in the worst possible spirits at the moment, having attended three funerals for their close friends in just one week.