Bereaved students and faculty of Tomales High and Elementary Schools came together last Friday to grieve the loss of Ramón Romo Zúñiga, their friend, classmate and student, at the Catholic Church of the Assumption. More than 150 people packed the humble church and spilled onto its front lawn, all dressed in white. Everyone had the opportunity to say goodbye to the boy who had died six days earlier in a tragic vehicle accident.
Ramón and his classmate Juan Macias, both 16-year-old Point Reyes Station residents, were found with major injuries after a car in which they were passengers crashed off the Marshall-Petaluma Road at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 15.
The driver, Joseup Mendoza, a 21-year-old also from Point Reyes Station, had been heading west when his car left the roadway and plummeted down a hillside, where it struck a tree. The teenagers were transported by helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where Ramón died from injuries he sustained in the accident.
Mr. Mendoza at first fled the scene on foot but later returned and was transported to Marin General Hospital for injuries. He was found to be under the influence of alcohol and was subsequently arrested and booked for felony charges of driving under the influence.
Mr. Mendoza is no longer in custody, and no charges were filed as of Wednesday. The case is pending, said Alfyia Nachtigall, a secretary for the Marin County District Attorney.
Norma Oregón-Santarelli, the principal at Tomales Elementary, where Ramón’s siblings attend school, told the Light that the entire school community is heartbroken. “I had the honor of meeting [Ramón] four years ago when I became the school principal,” she said. “When I think of Ramón as a student at Tomales Elementary, I remember his smile. He always had a smile on his face and was always willing to help his peers and friends in need. His siblings looked up to him as their big brother.”
Adam Jennings, the superintendent of Shoreline Unified School District, said the tragedy has impacted everyone at Tomales High, where Ramón was a junior. Last week, the Marin County Office of Education sent psychologists and counselors with therapy dogs to work out of the high school’s library, transforming it into a sanctuary for students to grieve and reflect.
Ramón’s tragic death has dramatically amplified the struggles of the Romo Zúñiga family, who lost their home in a fire in late February. Following the car accident, Cristina Salcedo, a family advocate at Tomales Elementary, worked with West Marin Community Services to create a bereavement fund for the family. Contributors met the $20,000 goal in less than five hours, and the funds surpassed $30,000 by the next morning, said Socorro Romo, the executive director at West Marin Community Services. The funds will go to the family for funeral and burial costs and medical bills.
Ms. Salcedo said parent committees are planning an event in remembrance of Ramón at both school sites.
West Marin’s treacherous roads and hairpin turns have long created an unsafe environment for drivers, and only one or two California Highway Patrol officers monitor West Marin roads at any given time.
According to a transportation injury mapping system kept by the University of California, Berkeley, there were roughly 150 drunk driving accidents in West Marin from 2011 through 2022 that resulted in one or more injured persons. Six of those accidents resulted in a death. Across Marin County, 95 percent of the 528 drunk driving accidents that happened in that 11-year span resulted in an injury.
To contribute to the Romo Zúñiga family bereavement fund, email [email protected] or call (415) 663.8361.