Snelling, Winton students mourn young classmates

Students, faculty and parents in a close-knit north Merced County school district pulled each other closer Friday as they remembered classmates taken too soon in a crash near Snelling.

The Hopeton and Washington elementary school campuses, which serve about 144 students in the Snelling and Winton areas, held ceremonies to mourn and remember Jonathan and Nayeli Hernandez, who were killed along with their parents in a tragic car wreck Sunday.

“I still can’t believe they’re gone,” said Zoe Machuca, 12, a cousin to the Hernandez children.

Nayeli, 9, and Jonathan, 6, were found with their parents, Mario and Blanca Hernandez, early Monday in an overturned truck in a canal along Youd Road near Snelling. Sometime the night before, the car left the roadway and rolled over, coming to rest partially submerged in the waterway.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

“Nayeli was a great girl. She loved to mess around and play games,” Zoe said, fighting back tears. “She also loved life.”

Students, teachers, school staff and other members of the community gathered at both campuses to watch slideshows backed by somber music. The photos showed the children smiling during Halloween parties, on field trips and in everyday moments in the classroom.

Teachers cried and hugged one another as the slideshow began.

Hopeton kindergarten teacher Jenny Young said the teachers and students are particularly tight because the schools are so small.

“We all have the same kids,” she said.

Outside the cafeteria at the Snelling school, ceremony-goers took balloons, each carrying a note written by students, and released them all at once. One note at Hopeton simply read, “I miss you,” scribbled in the handwriting of a small child.

Teachers and students at Hopeton wore red and yellow in honor of Jonathan, his favorite colors thanks to his love of Mario from the “Super Smash Bros.” video game and the title characters from the “Minions” animated films.

At Washington Elementary in Winton, notes and drawings decorated the stage. “I wish I could’ve spent more time with Nayeli,” read a note signed “Maria.”

A drawing, signed “Irving,” depicted Nayeli splashing a boy with a bucket of water. The children and faculty at Washington wore pink in honor of Nayeli.

Merced River School District Superintendent Richard Lopez said the students and faculty have begun to heal with the help of each other and from counselors provided by the Merced County Office of Education. He described the children as “two family members” in the tiny district’s family.

“They say, ‘Time heals all wounds,’ ” he said. “We’re definitely going to need a lot of time.”

The family’s funeral services are planned from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 1799 Winton Way, in Atwater. The rosary is planned for 7 p.m. that day, and a 10 a.m. Mass on Monday is also scheduled.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Snelling, Winton students mourn young classmates."