UNION CITY (BCN)— Two Union City high school students died and a third remains hospitalized after a collision early Sunday morning on Interstate Highway 880 in Hayward, according to officials with the New Haven Unified School District.
Logan High School senior Izaiah Mease, 17, was pronounced dead at the scene following the two-car collision on southbound Highway 880, California Highway Patrol officials said.
The collision was first reported around 1:25 a.m. near the West A Street on-ramp.
Mease was driving a 2004 Honda Accord, carrying the two other high school students, when he allegedly abruptly turned his car to the left, crossing in front of a 2015 Dodge Ram.
The Dodge then collided with the Honda, sending the two cars onto the center median before striking the cement K-rail.
Mease’s two passengers, identified as Joe Ioramo and Izaiah Paopao, were taken to a hospital, school district officials said.
Ioramo, a junior at the Decoto School for Independent Study, died while en route to the hospital, according to the school district.
Paopao, also a senior at Logan High School, remains hospitalized with head injuries, but is in stable condition and is expected to recover, school district officials said.
The occupants of the Dodge were also injured and taken to a hospital, according to the CHP.
Cecilia Rodriguez and 3-year old Francisco Mendoza were released from the hospital earlier on Tuesday.
CHP officials have determined that the driver of the Dodge was sober at the time of the collision, but they have not determined whether Mease was under the influence, CHP officials said.
The school district is offering grief and support services for its students and staff who have been impacted by the deaths of Mease and Ioramo.
Additionally, two separate GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help the boys’ families pay for burial and funeral expenses. The accounts can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/ionglivezay and https://www.gofundme.com/2ne5pfg.