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Moorpark High gives tribute to fallen teens
By Saria
Kraft
Acorn Staff Writer
Moorpark families headed into the holidays with the deepest
sense of sorrow after suffering the loss of two high school
students in three days.
Jose Ramirez, 15, died Nov. 21 in a car accident. Erin
Scott, 17, died Monday after collapsing on her way to
campus.
""The school community is like a close knit family," said
District Superintendent Frank DePasquale. "We are all in
mourning."
Ramirez was one of six passengers in a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe
traveling northbound on Highway 23 south of Fillmore. The
driver was speeding and lost control of the SUV in Grimes
Canyon at about 6:30 p.m., according to the California Highway
Patrol. The vehicle rolled and landed on its roof in the
southbound lane.
The youth died at the scene as a result of multiple head
injuries, said Deputy James Baroni, Ventura County Medical
Examiner’s office.
"He did not appear to be wearing a seatbelt," Baroni
said.
Scott collapsed on Countrywood Drive at about 8:20 a.m. and
was rushed by paramedics to Simi Valley Hospital, where she
died that morning of a pulmonary embolism.
"It was a fluke occurrence," Baroni said. "Normally, blood
clots occur in those recovering from surgery or laid up for a
period of time. Normally, you don’t see this in healthy,
active people."
The health conscious, active teen served the Moorpark
Musketeers football team as a student athletic trainer. With
plans to pursue a career in sports medicine, Scott already had
received college acceptance letters, said Jennica Hein, a
student assistance counselor.
Scott, who turned 17 on Nov. 12, was a member of the Teens
for Humanity student organization and co-founded the campus
club Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU).
"Erin was very grounded in her faith and had a strong moral
compass," Hein said. "She was slow to judge and somewhat
shy."
The school district had dispatched a crisis intervention
team of psychologists to the campus, DePasquale said. More
were brought in later Monday morning.
"During lunch, we assembled the teachers," DePasquale said.
"We didn’t want to make a general announcement. We wanted
teachers to inform their students directly, in a more personal
way."
In a prepared statement, instructors made the announcement
in their classrooms. The Student Assistance Center, where Hein
leads social and emotional counseling, crisis intervention and
peer mediation programs, was made available throughout the
day.
At the center, about 400 students poured out their grief in
poetry, creative writing and drawings, Hein said. "They didn’t
want to cry in class, so they came here to express feelings
and sentiments about their loss."
"When they spoke about Jose, they said that he loved his
family, that he was a great friend and kind and that they miss
him," Hein said. "One girl said she was in love with him in
the second grade."
A ninth-grade girl who came for counseling was devastated
by the loss of Scott, her longtime babysitter, Hein said.
Scott leaves behind a number of younger children for whom she
babysat, neighbors said.
At press time, a special rosary service had been scheduled
for Ramirez on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic
Church. A brief tribute to the students is scheduled tonight
at 7 p.m. prior to the home football game against Camarillo,
an MHS official
said.
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