A 16-year-old boy who died in a wrong-way DUI crash on Highway 17 early Saturday morning was identified Sunday by family friends as Fremont resident Armando Canales.
Armando, a student at Washington High School, was one of the passengers in the backseat of a Toyota Corolla when a 28-year-old woman driving a Chrysler minivan the wrong way on southbound Highway 17 near Redwood Estates slammed into the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A candlelight vigil was held Monday night at the Washington High campus, and a remembrance for students and parents is planned for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Shakers Pizza on Thornton Avenue, according to a family friend.
Three other people suffered major injuries in the collision, and Ashley Marie Oliver of San Jose, who was treated for minor injuries, was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter, authorities said. She was booked into Santa Clara County Jail.
Armando was a football player for Washington High and was remembered as a funny, caring friend with a promising future, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched to help his family pay for funeral services.
The campaign had collected more than $9,800 of a $10,000 goal as of late Monday morning.
Friends remembered Armando as a loyal and selfless person who wanted to serve his country in the military and his community as a firefighter.
"I'm going to miss being a brother to him," Julio Valdez said. "I'm just going to miss every day driving him to school, laughing with him, joking with him, every day just being with him."
"If I was having a down day or someone was having a down day and he was having a down day, too, he wouldn't care about anything that he was thinking about," Nick Lombardi said. "He'd care about everybody else."
