The sister of a Santa Ynez Valley Union High School freshman who died hours after she was struck by a vehicle last week near the campus said the girl’s last text to a relative is an important way to remember her.
That text sent by Carina Dee Velazquez? “Don’t forget to smile,” according to her younger sister.
“I thought what a wonderful thing to have to remember Carina,” her sister, Marcella, said Friday morning at a memorial service.
Carina died at the hospital hours after she was struck by a minivan while walking across Highway 246 near Refugio Road about 6:50 p.m. March 26 while walking home from an after-school activity.
Greta Garofallou, 83, of Lompoc was driving the minivan west on Highway 246 when it struck the 15-year-old girl, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Sporting casual attire at the family’s request to reflect Carina’s relaxed approach to life, hundreds attended the memorial service Friday morning at the high school football stadium.
Some teens donned pajama pants, Carina’s favorite comfy clothes. Others wore different shades of green, also at the family’s request.
Her parents, Melissa and Jose, and other relatives sat near two large photos at the front of the crowd of approximately 300 people, many on blankets on the field.
Carina’s heart has stopped, “but her soul and the impact that she had on us will never stop,” her sister said.
“I would like to say she was a really good sister,” Joseph said during the service.
Pastor Richard Smitley from First Baptist Church read a eulogy from Carina’s father, Jose, urging people to remember Carina’s smile, friendship laughter and love — “and when her name is said, it brings a smile to our faces and not a tear to our eyes.”
He recalled his daughter as a “typical teenage girl” but said she also asked him to go on a camping trip in the mountains above the Santa Ynez Valley as they used to do with her friends. She did not request a party or car like other 16-year-olds, a fact he said “sums up her spirit and her character perfectly.”
In the days before she died, Carina was excitedly preparing for the trip, packing, gathering gear and planning the menu for her birthday dinner.
“Her goal for the trip was to make it to the top the mountain, although I never figured out which mountain she was referring to because we did take different trails,” her dad said in the eulogy. “I am positive she has reached the top of her mountain.”
The text wasn’t the only time Carina’s words were read during the service.
Principal Mark Swanitz read a letter the freshman student wrote on her first day of high school to herself in four years, in which she expressed excitement for the future.
“If I die tomorrow, how I want to be remembered is to my parents, a loving daughter, my siblings, an equal sister, and to my friends, my friends,” Swanitz read.
Other adults and teens shared their memories of the girl known for her “natural beauty” and being a “true friend” during the memorial held days after Carina would have celebrated her 16th birthday.
“She didn’t judge,” friend Sofia Caciola said. “She knew that it was OK to be a little different and weird and, frankly, crazy.”
“She was a doer,” Caciola added, adding her friend “did things that she wanted to do. She didn’t stop because it was out of the question. She knew what she could do. She didn’t doubt herself. She didn’t doubt others.”
She encouraged friends to be themselves.
“If more people were like her this world would be amazing,” Caciola said.
College School District Superintendent Jim Brown recalled his many encounters with Carina as she grew up and attended the school, giving hugs each time she saw him.
“Everything you’ve heard about Carina this morning is absolutely a reflection of her real self. It’s who she was. And you can see the legacy that she’s left,” he said.
The school has established a Carina Velazquez Award that will be given each year to a student, Brown said, inviting the family to participate in each ceremony.
“It’s a way for us to be sure that Carina’s legacy is remembered,” Brown added.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.