PIEDMONT’S NORMALLY JOYFUL annual Turkey Trot began Thursday morning as a memorial for three young people who died in a car crash Wednesday.
“A longstanding and beloved tradition benefitting local youth athletics, this year’s Turkey Trot will take on new meaning as an opportunity to connect, comfort one another, and mourn as a community during this sorrowful time,” said Piedmont city spokesperson Echa Schneider in a statement Wednesday.
Three former Piedmont High students from the Class of 2023 died and another person was injured when the Tesla Cybertruck they were in crashed and caught fire early Wednesday morning, according to Piedmont Exedra.
The vehicle hit a curb and then a retaining wall around 3 a.m., wedging up against a tree on Hampton Road between Sea View and King avenues
The deaths sent waves of grief through the close-knit community, with hundreds of people lining up and leaving flowers at the scene of the crash in a makeshift but poignant memorial.
Bouquets surrounded the tree struck by the Tesla that officers and firefighters arrived to find in flames. First responders learned that someone who saw the crash was able to pull one of the four occupants out, though the other three people in the Cybertruck died. The person who survived was taken to a hospital with serious injuries but was in stable condition, Piedmont Police Capt. Chris Monahan said.
Police Chief Jeremy Bowers said investigators are looking into the possibility that the person who pulled the survivor out of the Cybertruck had left the same gathering prior to the crash.
A somber holiday
Thursday’s Turkey Trot still commenced, but not without crying, hugs and somber faces. Piedmont Mayor Jen Cavenaugh opened the event with brief memorial remarks and then led the community in a moment of silence.
“We’re going to get through this together in community,” said Cavenaugh. “And I know that when we’re feeling helpless, the one thing we can do is reach out to help others. When we’re feeling sad, the one thing we can do is reach out to connect to a friend, because chances are they’re feeling the same way you are.”
Indeed, Bowers said at a briefing Wednesday that Piedmont is “a very tight-knit community. This is a community that’s going to rally around members that are affected by this tragedy.”
Runners and walkers on Thursday were able to alter their route in order to pay respects at the memorial tree and honor the victims.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but Bowers said it’s “safe to say that speed was a factor” in the crash, though other possible factors have yet to be determined.
The Alameda County Coroner’s Office on Thursday said that the names of the three people who died in the crash are not yet being released but may be available next week.
