Victim of deadly car crash was 2016 Granite Falls grad
Published 1:30 am Saturday, September 3, 2016
GRANITE FALLS — The Granite Falls School District plans to have counselors and other support available to students and employees after the death of a recent graduate in a car accident early Friday morning.
The district issued a statement Friday on Facebook from Superintendent Linda Hall. She identified the 19-year-old killed in the accident as Lorena Espindola.
A team of counselors was brought in Friday to meet with people at the high school and were around during the home football game that evening, according to the district.
“We will continue, through the start of school next week, providing support for our students and staff during this difficult time,” Hall wrote.
The district did not expect to have any information about a memorial service for at least a few days. Hall asked that people keep Espindola’s family in their thoughts. She urged students to express their feelings about her death through talking, writing, drawing or other outlets. Routines also can be important in times of loss and grief, Hall wrote.
“Tragedies like this remind us of how important our school community, and the people in it, are to us,” she wrote. “Make sure to take care of yourselves, your family, and one another.”
Friends and family have been sharing photos and memories of Espindola on social media. They paint the picture of a girl who was smart and sassy, friendly and full of laughter. She loved to be by the ocean, watching the waves roll in. She graduated in the spring from Granite Falls High School.
Espindola was killed in a car crash around 3:45 a.m. Friday in the 18200 block of Quarry Road. She was traveling northbound and reportedly turned in front of a southbound pickup truck without warning, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The truck collided with Espindola’s car. She died at the scene.
The 41-year-old man driving the truck was taken to the hospital. His condition was not immediately available.
