A San Marcos High School student with dreams of culinary greatness was remembered Wednesday night with a candlelight vigil.
Yoltzin Hernandez’s parents made the difficult decision to take her off life support, days after she was critically injured after being hit by a car just a couple hundred yards away from her school early Halloween morning.
Previous coverage:
Wednesday evening, her parents were followed by at least a hundred family and friends as they walked in silence from the school to the crash site. It happened on South Rancho Santa Fe Road, just south of San Marcos Boulevard, where they left a curbside memorial. They also shared stories about Hernandez’s humor, smarts and heart.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
“A lot of her work was in the Catholic church. She was always willing to help others. She was always willing to go the extra mile to provide support,” her aunt, Sylvia Alvarez, told NBC 7.
“I remember on the first day, she comforted me,” schoolmate Natalie Carrillo said as she started shedding tears. “She was nice to me. I thought high schoolers were scary, but she wasn't.”
“She was really smart, too,” schoolmate Ana Arango said. “A very smart person. We would steal her answers sometimes, but she never got mad”
When Hernandez wasn’t focused on her studies, her family says the 16-year-old high school junior enjoyed cuddling with her cat and focused on her future by fostering her creative side.
“She was kind and had so many dreams,” her aunt said. “I know she wanted to go into culinary arts and baking. She would say, ‘Not cooking, baking.'"
With candles and flowers in hand, friends and family circled Hernandez’s family to show support.
“I’m sure without all that love, we wouldn’t be as strong,” Hernandez’s sister, Yaretzi, said.
Though Hernandez is no longer here to celebrate her 17th birthday next month, her family is comforted that she was able to give the gift of life to someone else.
“With her donating her heart, it’s a legacy we’re going to keep in our heart, and it’s something that, for us, she lives. And now that she's gone, she's able to continue to give,” Alvarez said.
“We’re very happy because she's giving life to someone who needs it, and she would have loved that,” her sister said.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department says the driver involved in the crash stopped and has been cooperating with the department during the investigation.
