3rd grader mourned in Desert Hot Springs after deadly car accident
A third-grade student from Bella Vista Elementary School is being remembered as a "baseball angel" by the school community after a deadly car crash.
A spokesperson for Palm Springs Unified School District confirmed the death and that a crisis team was on campus to assist students. Donations are now being accepted online and at the school for Ian Villalobos, who died on October 31, according to a post on the school's social media page.
A Go Fund Me page is also posted, reading: "My name is Sandra, Ian’s mom. I am trying to raise funds for my son’s funeral and medical expenses. Regretfully, he lost his life after a sudden car accident." The goal is $20,000 and hundreds of dollars were raised within hours of the initial posting.
News Channel 3 was on the scene of a head-on crash in Desert Hot Springs on Monday. That accident left two people hospitalized. One of them, a child, was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. News Channel 3 has reached out to Desert Hot Springs Police today to confirm the crash had turned fatal. The San Bernardino County Coroner's Office confirms to News Channel 3 that Villalobos died Tuesday at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The police initially reported the child's age as 10. The coroner's office recorded his age as 9 years old.
That was one day after the Monday afternoon crash, which occurred in the area of Palm Drive and Yucca Drive.
Police said a driver in a white Subaru was northbound on Palm Drive approaching Yucca Drive when they drifted into the southbound lane and collided head-on into the Toyota pickup truck.
A third person was also checked out by medics but not transported to the hospital.
News Channel 3 is reaching out to local officials to confirm additional details.