A tragic accident on November 26 claimed the life of 17-year-old Ana Villa Herrera.
The crash occurred at Vanderbilt Beach Road and Islandwalk Boulevard when an 86-year-old man in a Jeep turned left in front of her car, causing it to overturn and crash into a light pole.
Ana died at the scene. Her mother, Ladis, and her two younger brothers, Tio and Roberto, were hospitalized.
Ana's father shared that her mother is still recovering in the hospital and her brothers are undergoing physical therapy.
He was not ready to speak on camera but shared these updates with WINK News. The driver of the Jeep was not injured in the crash. In response to the tragedy, Debra Pluchino started a fundraiser to assist Ana's father, Roberto, with funeral expenses and medical bills.
Pluchino, who has known Roberto for about a year through his gardening work in Ave Maria, felt moved to support the family.
"When I heard about the loss of his daughter, it moved me to help him with, you know, funeral arrangements, medical bills, the loss of a child is just unthinkable," said Pluchino.
Pluchino described Roberto as a hard worker and a dedicated individual. She recalled how he reached out to inform her he couldn't make a scheduled appointment due to a family emergency.
"Roberto has been helping me with my gardening in Ave Maria now for probably about a year, and he's just such a hard worker and dedicated and responsive and kind. He had reached out to me because we had set an appointment for him to come and do some planting, and he reached out to me to tell me he wasn't going to make it because he had a family emergency," said Pluchino.
The Collier County School District expressed its condolences to Ana's family and all those affected by the loss. One of Ana's former teachers described her as a hardworking and beloved student.
"She was a true model student who was going to be extremely successful," the teacher said.