In a path of destruction where shards of glass and shattered
hearts remained Monday, friends and family remembered two
18-year-old men killed in Saturday night
’s tragic single-car crash in rural San Benito County.
In a path of destruction where shards of glass and shattered hearts remained Monday, friends and family remembered two 18-year-old men killed in Saturday night’s tragic single-car crash in rural San Benito County.
Paul “P.J.” Galvan and Matthew Lopez, both graduates of San Benito High School, died when a car driven by Omar De La Cruz, 16, plowed into a field and toppled on its roof.
Two other 18-year-old passengers, Joshua Badillo and Ricardo Cosio, sustained injuries but survived.
“I can’t believe this, I really can’t believe this,” said Brandi Rodriguez Galvan, P.J.’s cousin, while at the accident site. “I’ll remember his smile. I’ve never seen that boy in my life with a frown on his face.”
She was among scores, maybe hundreds, of people who visited the memorial throughout the day Monday. What started as a poster board and roses Sunday became an exhibition of mementos – letters, poems, a golf club and ball, a baseball, candles and balloons.
“You never dream of things like that,” said Tina Mangano, Lopez’s aunt, who visited the memorial Monday morning. “You never dream of it happening in your family.”
At San Benito High School – where roadway tragedy has struck all too often in recent years – five advisors trained for grief counseling were available for students and teachers throughout the day, according to school Principal Duane Morgan.
“It seems like every year we have an incident like this,” said Morgan. “It’s just a shame because they were such young people.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, law enforcement authorities described a more complete picture of the weekend accident. Alcohol was involved, and De La Cruz, a junior at the high school, will likely be charged with one or two counts of vehicular man-slaughter and driving while under the influence, according to Terry Mayes, information officer for the California Highway Patrol.
District Attorney John Sarsfield makes those decisions – he expected to receive the complaint Tuesday, he said. De La Cruz was booked at the San Benito County Juvenile Hall late Sunday.
For Galvan, visitation will be Wednesday from 5–5:30 p.m. at Black Cooper Sander Funeral Home and from 6–9 p.m. at St. Benedict’s Church. A church service will take place at 7 p.m.
For Lopez, visitation will take place Thursday at Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home at 3 p.m. until a rosary service in the mortuary chapel at 7 p.m. A funeral service will occur there Friday at 10:30 a.m. and will proceed to the Old Mission San Juan Bautista for a church service at 11 a.m.
