By Allison Jarrell | LB Indy
Jasmen Wilkinson, a 14-year-old Laguna Beach High School freshman, tragically passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 6, after suffering serious injuries from a car collision on Laguna Canyon Road Tuesday morning.
Members of the community are invited to attend a Celebration of Life service for Jasmen on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 12 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 682 Park Avenue, Laguna Beach.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 7:47 a.m., Laguna Beach police officers responded to a traffic collision in the 700 block of Laguna Canyon Road involving a parked dump truck and a 2001 Lexus SUV.
The driver of the Lexus, identified by authorities as a 74-year-old Laguna Beach man, was driving Jasmen, sitting in the rear seat, and her 11-year-old sister, Lana, who was seated in the front right passenger seat, to school. The driver is a friend of the girls’ family, and was taking the girls to El Morro Elementary and Laguna Beach High School.
“The Lexus was traveling westbound on Laguna Canyon Road, at approximately 50 mph, when the driver claimed he suddenly blacked out,” Sgt. Jim Cota said. “He lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drift towards the shoulder, where it collided with an occupied parked dump truck. The force of the collision caused the vehicle to spin out of control until it collided with a tree in the center median.”
LBFD paramedics arrived on scene and extracted all of the occupants from the Lexus, Cota said. All three occupants sustained serious injuries and were transported to Mission Hospital – Mission Viejo. Cpl. Cornelius Ashton notified both schools and contacted the girls’ mother after the accident.
Jasmen’s sister, Lana, is recovering after a surgery for broken bones, according to friends of the family.
A GoFundMe to support the Wilkinson family has been set up by friends. As of Friday afternoon, over $70,500 had been raised for the family by 673 donors.
“We are setting up this go fund me page to provide a way for this single mother of the family to pay for hospital costs, funeral expenses and any ongoing needs she will face,” organizers wrote. “Thank you for your support! We are so touched with the outpouring of love from you all!”
Since Tuesday, Superintendent Jason Viloria has sent several emails to the LBUSD community keeping them up to date, including letting parents know that the district has resources available to provide immediate support services if they or their children need them.
“Counseling support is available for any student that needs to speak with a counselor, and we have requested additional counseling support from the county to assist us in providing support,” Viloria said.
In his most recent email, Viloria let the community know about Jasmen’s upcoming celebration of life service, at the request of her family:
Dear LBUSD Community,
As was shared yesterday, a member of the Laguna Beach High School student body, 9th grader Jasmen Wilkinson, passed away Thursday from injuries sustained in a car accident on Tuesday. In our tight-knit community, a tragedy like this is felt by all. At the request of her family, we wanted to share information about her services in the event that anybody would like to attend. The details are provided below:
Celebration of Life Service
Jasmen Wilkinson
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019
12 p.m.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
682 Park Ave, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
All are welcome to attend.
Again, our deepest condolences go out to the Wilkinson family and all impacted by this tragedy.
Sincerely,
Jason
Jason Viloria Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
