Pictured left to right: Jennifer Ramiro, Linda Wong, Natasha Gladoveza, and Melveen Longboy at Squaw Valley ski resort the weekend of the tragic accident.
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One Student Killed, One Injured in Car Accident
While returning home from a vacation in Lake Tahoe during spring break, four USF students were forced off a road near Truckee. Their car flipped before landing in a snow bank. One student, junior Jennifer Ramiro, was killed. Another student, senior Linda Wong, was hurt, but is in stable condition. The other two students, seniors Natasha Gladoveza and Melveen Longboy, were unhurt.
Services for Ramiro were held April 2 in San Jose. An on-campus memorial will be held in the next several days, said Jani White, assistant director of University Ministry.
Longboy said Ramiro was one of her closest friends. They had known each other since freshman year and were both members of the Hawaiian club. Ramiro, a communications major, loved to dance the hula and eat Macadamia nuts. “I saw her as my sister,” said Longboy. “She’s always going to be remembered for her energy. She was always happy. She seemed pure and innocent.”
The four friends were returning from the Tahoe area March 25 when another car swerved into their lane, sending the students’ car off the road and into a steep embankment. The force of the impact killed Ramiro almost instantly. Wong was rushed to the hospital where she underwent surgery. She is still recuperating at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
The news of Ramiro’s death stunned the Lone Mountain residence hall where she lived, and her teachers and mentors. “She was very happy. Very friendly,” said Ryan Kasmier, residence hall director and a neighbor of Ramiro’s in Lone Mountain. “She was a great force for her floor and the building.”
Ramiro was described as a smart, purposeful student by her professors. “Jennifer was a bright light on the USF national student advertising competition team,” said Greg Pabst, who taught Ramiro’s special topics in advertising class and is the adviser to the USF advertising team. “We had already talked about her returning next year in a leadership position. She was smart, engaged, and hard working.”
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