Hundreds attend vigil for four Matin County teen girls killed in crash
A day after a West Marin crash killed four teenage girls and injured two others, more than 300 people joined a vigil in a display of collective grief.
The teens, all students at Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo, were riding in a Volkswagen SUV on Friday evening when it crashed into a tree on San Geronimo Valley Road. Their ages range from 14 to 16.
The vigil took place Saturday evening at the central ballfield in Fairfax.
“Many of us have come tonight because we are hurting,” the Rev. Scott Clark of First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo said to the crowd at the vigil. “This is a heartbreaking day — and it is hard.”
Authorities have not released the names of the teens, and Clark said they would not be named during the vigil to respect the privacy of the families. He said the girls would be honored in the coming weeks.
“These are loved ones who were known to us, and we hold them close,” Clark said. “These are hard times in general, and this day is excruciatingly painful.”
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. The two survivors, who were critically injured, remained in hospitals on Sunday morning, according to the CHP.
The Tamalpais Union High School District will provide counseling for students “for as long as we need to,” said Tara Taupier, the district’s superintendent.
“Communities don’t recover from these kinds of things quickly,” Taupier said. “I know all we can do is love each other when a tragedy like this happens.”
The vigil on Saturday included a six-minute silent meditation — a minute for each teen — led by the Rev. Floyd Thompkins of Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church in Marin City.
“It is a shock,” Thompkins said. “The reality of not only how strong and vibrant life can be, and yet how fragile it really is in every moment.”
During the meditation, several dozen people brought flowers to the front table. Residents also have left flowers at a growing memorial at the crash site.
Jacob Hershman, youth director of Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael, extended his condolences to the community on behalf of the Jewish congregation.
“As Pastor Floyd said, ‘The things that bring us together are much stronger than the things that tear us apart,’” Hershman said.
Following the meditation, three mothers of children in the school district — Kelly Atkins, Liz Pisco and Rebecca Chourre — sang “Hallelujah.”
“I think a lot of us feel numb right now,” Atkins said. “It’s so far away from anything that you can comprehend, that I don’t think it’s hit the community yet.”
Pisco agreed.
“It’s horrific,” she said. “The children are very, very distraught. They’re really looking for leadership right now. They want to know what they can do and what they should be doing.”
After the ceremony, a number of people stayed at the field for up to 45 minutes longer to connect with each other, many hugging and sobbing.
“People just want to feel like they’re in community, with the whole town holding space,” Taupier said.