District offers counseling after student death

The Santa Clara Unified School District is offering every high school in the district ongoing counseling services after the death of 17-year-old Brian Ibarra Casillas in a fatal crash Sunday night, according to a district spokeswoman.

Ibarra Casillas passed away Monday morning at a hospital after he lost control of his Acura Integra and struck a Toyota Highlander while attempting to turn onto northbound Bowers Avenue from Monroe Street in Santa Clara shortly after 10:20 p.m. Sunday.

The Highlander was stopped in the left lane of southbound Bowers Avenue at a red light. When Ibarra Casillas’ vehicle swerved and hit the Highlander, the force pushed it into the front yard of a residence on the northwest corner of the intersection, according to police.

The car tipped over onto its side when it settled in the yard, and all four occupants inside the Highlander were transported to a hospital with moderate injuries, police said.

Police are not sure of how or why Ibarra Casillas lost control of his vehicle. He was the solo occupant in the Acura.

Santa Clara Unified School District spokeswoman Jennifer Derrico said Ibarra Casillas attended a few high schools in the district and had been enrolled as a student in the district since kindergarten. He was due to graduate in June.

Derrico said:

“An accident like this is always a tragedy, and it’s especially devastating when it’s a young person. … We are grieving his death district-wide right now.”