Candlelight Vigil Draws Hundreds To Mourn 3 Dublin Teens

DUBLIN, CA — Carrying candles, photos, flowers and signs, hundreds of people turned out Sunday night at Dublin High School to honor three Gaels killed Christmas night in a Pleasanton car crash — and to remember there are still two teens fighting to overcome serious injuries.

Dublin High students Javier Ramirez, and twin brothers Mark Anthony Urista and Michael Angelo Urista — all just 16 years old — died in the crash. A fourth DHS student, junior Samantha Vargas Arceo, and the twins’ cousin Jared Reynoso were seriously injured in the crash. Reynoso remains in a coma at Eden Medical Center.

A priest spoke to the crowd, and Ana Reynoso, Mark and Mchael Urista’s mother, addressed those gathered, saying “God, this is so beautiful just looking at everybody, it warms my heart. I can’t put it into words other than I literally called my friends to come and do a drone video because I knew the boys would like this,” according to an East Bay Times report.

"Our entire community is mourning the loss of three Dublin High School students. Our hearts are absolutely broken," Dublin Unified School District officials said in a released statement after news of the crash. "This is a devastating loss to our community and it is important that we remember to take care of one another during this critical time."

Reynoso spoke to NBC Bay Area and said her twin boys, who leave behind two brothers, were going out the night of the crash to help an upset friend on Christmas.

“Come on mom, one of our friends are having a tough Christmas day,” Michael told his mother.

When the boys didn’t return or call at curfew, Reynoso knew something was wrong. Family tracked Jared's cell phone to the crash location. As Reynoso arrived at the scene, she saw the coroner's van, she told NBC.

The deadly crash happened shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday on Foothill Road just north of Castlewood Drive. When California Highway Patrol officers arrived, they found three people in the vehicle; two had been ejected. The driver and two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while the two other teen passengers were taken to a hospital with major injuries, according to CHP Officer Tyler Hahn.

CHP investigators believe the car was heading south on Foothill Road when it crossed into the northbound lanes, slamming first into a power pole and then a tree. The power lines were arcing when emergency crews arrived, creating a hazard for rescuers.

In a prepared statement, Hahn said, "The sole vehicle involved in this collision had overturned resulting in the roof of the vehicle colliding with a large tree just east of the roadway. The force of the collision trapped three occupants within the vehicle and two occupants were ejected from the vehicle."

The impact from the crash severed the power pole at the base and upended the pole, causing a transformer to rupture and spill about 20 gallons of mineral oil onto the roadway and dirt shoulder, Hahn said. Foothill Road was closed for most of Thursday as PG&E crews repaired the damage.

Alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the collision, Hahn said. A final determination will be made after the coroner's report is completed and officers have further investigated the crash.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Dublin-area CHP office at (925) 828-0466.

According to a GoFundMe page established in honor of the twins and their family, more than $100,000 has been raised as of Monday morning.

A page for Jared is set up at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/angelica-reynosos039s-son-jared-in-coma. The GoFundMe site for Samantha is at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/samantha-vargas-financial-support.

There are no public announcements yet on funeral services for the boys.