Partner, parents remember 'Mr. Wonderful,' Castlemont math teacher killed in Oakland chase

OAKLAND, Calif. - It's been a little over a week since a beloved Castlemont High School math teacher from Oakland was killed in a crash that stemmed from a California Highway Patrol chase. 

On Thursday, for the first time, Marvin Boomer's loved ones – including his romantic partner whom he was walking with that night and whose life he saved – are opening up about their grief, the crash, and the legacy he leaves behind. 

‘Without a doubt, he saved my life’

"I feel really weird about surviving, mixed emotions about surviving," Nina Woodruff told KTVU, her arm in a sling, her left eye still bruised. "And I'm also grateful for the gift he gave me." 

Woodruff, the deputy CEO of the Black Cultural Zone and former executive director of the Museum of Children's ART, was talking about the moment Boomer pushed her to safety before he was hit by a fire hydrant following a crash at East 21st Street and Park Boulevard in Oakland on May 28. 

"I just kept saying, baby, get up, baby, get up," Woodruff recalled.

While she survived, Boomer, 40, died when an Infiniti G35 the CHP was pursuing because the driver of the same car was wanted for driving recklessly three weeks prior, didn't stop when asked. 

The 18-year-old driver took off, evading the officers into a residential neighborhood and struck a minivan, tree and fire hydrant, which got knocked off its base and fatally struck Boomer, as he was walking with Woodruff for one of their evening strolls. The couple was four blocks from their home. 

The teen, Eric Hernandez-Garcia, was charged with seven felonies and has not yet entered a plea. 

Meanwhile, Woodruff is recovering from injuries to her arm, face, chest and legs. 

"Without a doubt, he saved my life," she said. "It's not surprising because that's how he was with me. I called him Mr. Wonderful."

Woodruff says she and Boomer were planning a future together, they were a couple who prayed together, who talked together, who walked together.

"He was a true partner," she said. "We had a very loving relationship." 

But that was all cut short. 

Family remembers Boomer's kindness,'infectious' smile

Boomer's sister and parents remember him as a kind, gentle soul, with a smile that could lift anyone's mood.

"Infectious," Boomer's mother, Dorothenia, said. "It had a great impact."

They also say he had a tireless dedication to improving the lives of his students. 

"I am immensely proud of him," his sister, Tynesha Boomer, said.

His father also only had the highest accolades for his son. 

"Man, he was a genius in doing that," said Marvin Boomer, Sr. "Let them know that they matter."

Marvin Boomer was the third son their parents lost. His two other brothers died in 2019 and 2020. 

Loved ones say crash was preventable

The Boomers were taken aback to see hundreds of people who turned out for a vigil last Friday at the site of the crash, which they believe should never have happened. 

Hernandez faces vehicular manslaughter among other charges. Woodruff says she briefly interacted with him at the scene, 

"I just told him to leave. Like get out, like get away from me," said Woodruff. "He says, 'I don't know what to do, I'm scared'."

Woodruff says her anger is primarily directed at CHP for initiating the pursuit in the first place. 

"It's a child. It is complex. There's enough anger to go around, and it's irresponsible to have chases in neighborhoods, period," said Woodruff. "I have a rage that there was a high-speed chase in a residential neighborhood, in the neighborhood that we walked all the time."

Woodruff is also frustrated by how she says she was treated at the scene by police. 

"Some officer came up to me," she said. "He asked me if I was in the car, if I was driving, and he was mean. He was like, ‘What are you doing? Were you driving?’ Interrogating me instead of trying to get me help. He never once – and I'm bleeding from my arm – he never once asked me for help. Never once asked me if could he help me."

His father wondered aloud why the pursuit had to take place in the first place. 

"Why do you have to endanger lives?" said Marvin Boomer, Sr. 

They're hoping his death will lead to change. 

"It looks like a state that says 'we don't do this'," said Woodruff. 

California Highway Patrol and Oakland Police declined to comment further Thursday on the crash or the chase.

A cherished legacy

But Marvin Boomer's loved ones are taking some comfort, knowing their community is a better place because of the man who never gave up on his students, or his adopted city. 

"He made a difference," Marvin Boomer Sr. said. "He made a difference." 

Boomer came to Oakland from Memphis, Tenn., after getting his master's and doctorate degrees. 

He had been at Castlemont High for eight years. And students raved about what a great math teacher he was. 

"His legacy will live on in all the babies whose lives he's touched," said Woodruff. "His legacy will be in Oakland."

OaklandCalifornia Highway PatrolPolice Chases