Parents of UC Berkeley student killed in Nice, France speak out
NICE, FRANCE (KGO) -- The parents of the UC Berkeley student killed in the Nice, France terror attack last week are speaking out for the first time.
Twenty-year-old Nick Leslie's parents are understandably in disbelief. They spoke to the media Wednesday morning from Nice.
RELATED: Vigil honors Cal student killed in Bangladesh terrorist attack
Berkeley student Nick Leslie was among 84 people killed when a man drove a truck through Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France.
"We just don't understand how that happened. And, furthermore, how it got in or how it could possibly drive for almost a mile killing all of these wonderful lives. Not only our son, but there was other people that died. We met the other American family that lost their 11-year-old boy. And you walk down and you see the flowers of all these kids. And it was like a senseless -- we're short for words," said Conrad Leslie. Nick Leslie's dad.
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Nick's parents went to France after hearing the news.
"He told us the news that he didn't make it and so you know, I don't anymore what more to say." Paola Leslie, Nick Leslie's mom.
When Conrad and Paola Leslie landed in Paris, still in the plane on the tarmac, they heard a voicemail: their son hadn't made it.
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"We really thought he was going to be here. We brought other clothes. We thought that he was just a missing person in the hospital, they couldn't identify. We really thought he was going to be here," said Conrad Leslie.
The Cal student was part of a study abroad program.
PHOTOS: Truck drives through Bastille Day crowds in France, killing scores
"The professors from Berkeley and program managers for the program that he was involved and, most important, the students we met that were his classmates in his program were here. And they greeted us. They supported us. They did everything. They went out hospital to hospital looking for him. The only thing that keeps us going is that we had 20 incredible years with our son. He was a very special boy. We loved him very much. He wasn't only our son, he was a friend," said Conrad Leslie.
Nick was part of a four week summer entrepreneurship program along with 85 other Cal students. He was a junior. He grew up in San Diego, but came up to the Bay Area for college.
RELATED: Vigil honors UC Berkeley student killed in Bangladesh terrorist attack
Click here for full coverage on the truck attack in Nice.
