Community mourns Liberty High seniors killed in fatal crash

BRENTWOOD — There wasn’t a dry eye at Liberty High School as over a hundred students, friends, and community members gathered in remembrance of two students who died in a car crash early Sunday morning.

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Dominic Ferrari, 17, and Caden Kyle, 17, were both inside a silver Infiniti that collided with a white BMW in the fatal crash that happened at about 12:20 a.m., in the area of Deer Valley Road and Balfour Road.

Ferrari and Kyle were pronounced dead at the scene while a third student also was seriously injured, according to authorities. A fourth person was hospitalized, the Antioch Police Department previously said.

Thursday’s candlelight vigil, held to honor Ferrari and Kyle and support their families, began with a poem recital, followed by the school’s A Cappella Choir group, who sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

The atmosphere was somber as hundreds gathered in a courtyard on campus, dimly lit by candles held by attendees. Many were seen hugging and wiping tears, with some sobbing as they paid their respects to Ferrari and Kyle.

Friends who paid their tribute described Ferrari as a “funny guy,” who always had a smile on his face and was “obsessed” with his hair.

“I remember we were tackling, and I laid him out. His helmet came off, and the first thing the dude said was, ‘How does my hair look?’” said TJ Haug, who met Ferrari during his freshman year playing football.

“He was a brother, he was a son, he was a peer. He was a student here. We all love you.”

Another friend, Matthew Gallegos, said Ferrari was like a brother to him.

“The relationship between me, Dom and the rest of his close friends became something special,” said Gallegos.

“For the last three years of high school, we’ve been telling ourselves to make our own memories, and everywhere we went, Dom was following his mom’s footsteps. He was the photographer of the group, and everything that made him smile or laugh was an instant picture.”

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A friend of Kyle’s, who did not wish to be identified, said Kyle dreamed of being a pilot, was passionate about aviation, and loved history and soccer.

Principal Efa Huckaby said students themselves organized the candlelight vigil.

“It’s meant for the students to heal, for the community to heal,” Huckaby told the Bay Area News Group.

In an email to the school community on Sunday, Huckaby said the loss would be felt throughout the school community.

To help deal with students’ grief, Liberty High School has been providing additional counseling and support services on campus since Monday.

In a public social media post on Monday, Ferrari’s mother Stephanie Starkenberg-Ferrari called the tragedy “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

“Our hearts are shattered,” Starkenberg-Ferrari wrote. “There is a huge hole in my soul. I go between crying, screaming, shock and numbness. My heart is also broken for the family who lost their son, and the family whose son is in the hospital.”

It was not clear if investigators believed speed, alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash.

Antioch Police have asked anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who has dashcam footage from the area at the time of the crash to contact Sgt. Green from the Traffic Unit at 925-779-6864.

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