GILROY (KRON) — The Gilroy Unified School District is mourning the deaths of four of its students Wednesday, three who were killed in a suspected DUI crash Tuesday night and another who died Saturday night after her car struck a tree.
This afternoon, Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Deborah Flores told KRON that the district is in shock about the deaths.
Three of the students were killed in a suspected DUI car crash late Tuesday night on Leavesley Road in Gilroy, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers responded and found a 1997 Ford Mustang on its roof and five people inside. Four of them, three females and a male, were pronounced dead at the scene, Tritenbach said.
The driver of the Mustang, Anthony Imbronone III, 23, survived the wreck and was taken to Regional Medical Center of San Jose with major injuries.
Investigators determined he had been driving under the influence of alcohol and arrested him on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter, then released him for further treatment at the hospital, Tritenbach said.
According to CHP it appears as if speeding and alcohol were factors. The car seems to have lost control on the roadway and veered off into a ravine at high speeds.
The CHP and command post are at the scene conducting the ongoing investigation.
According to police documents, “The 1997 Ford Mustang was traveling eastbound on Leavesley Road east of New Avenue at an undetermined speed. For an unknown reason the driver of the Mustang made a turning movement to the left while negotiating a right curve in the roadway.”
“The impact caused fatal injuries to the 24-year-old male right front passenger, the 18-year-old female right rear passenger, the unknown female left rear female passenger and the unknown female middle rear passenger,” the report said.
One of the females was identified as Sara Jean Williams, a senior at Christopher High School.
Late Wednesday evening, the coroner said that the other three had also be identified. They are 24-year-old Joseph Vasquez Flemate, Yesenia Mendoza Pina, 18, and Yolanda Jimene, also 18. All of them were from Gilroy.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Williams. It is available here.SARA WILLIAMS WAS WELL KNOWN ON CAMPUS
Williams was heavily involved in the school’s art program and has a twin brother who is also a senior at Christopher High, according to school officials.
“It has been hard for us to cope with one death, yet alone another,” said Christopher High principal Paul Winslow in a written statement posted on the school’s Facebook page about Williams.
“Sara was well known among staff, students and our community, and has left a hole in our heart,” Winslow wrote.
GILROY STUDENT KILLED IN SATURDAY NIGHT CRASH
The deadly crash comes days after a teenage girl was killed when the car she was riding struck a tree not far from Tuesday night’s incident.
Natalia Salcido, 15, was a passenger in the crash that happened in the 6300 block of Miller Avenue in Gilroy around 10 p.m. Saturday, police said.
The two other teens involved in Saturday’s accident were able to walk away from the crash without injury, but Natalia suffered major trauma and later died of her injuries, according to police.
“The San Jose Fire Department mourns the loss of Natalia Salcido, cherished daughter of Andora Salcido and Fire Captain Christopher Salcido and beloved sister of Noelle,” city fire officials said in a statement issued today.
Salcido also attended Christopher High School.