June 15, 2007

Two Evergreen High students killed in car crash

Friends, students mourn deaths

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Amrit Singh “Sunny” Kahlon and Jasdeep Singh Duhra were very close. Some of their friends said they were more like brothers. Both were also good students, who were never in trouble.

Family and friends spoke of their memories of Amrit Singh “Sunny” Kahlon and Jasdeep Singh Duhra during a candlelight vigil on June 8. The two EVHS students who were killed in a car accident on June 2.

So it was a sad and painful day for friends, teachers and family when the two lost their lives in a car crash on Saturday, June 2. The two young men, who were both 16 and about to conclude their junior year at Evergreen Valley High School, had promising futures, said friends. The two friends had hoped to finish their senior year and move on to college at UC Berkeley, according to those close to them.

San Jose Police said the students were speeding, driving north on Yerba Buena when the driver lost control, struck a southbound vehicle, then struck a tree and burst into flames. The driver and 4-year-old passenger in the other car were not seriously injured but were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Kahlon and Duhra were pronounced dead at the scene.

The two boys apparently had spent the day hunting for work in preparation for their summer break, said friends.

Evergreen High Principal Cari Vaeth said students were quite upset following the accident. She held a moment of silence during announcements on Monday morning and the school had grief counselors available for those in need. In addition, the school held a memorial in the school theater on Friday, June 8, followed by a candlelight vigil at the accident site. An estimated 200 people attended the vigil.

“There were more of us at the vigil than at the memorial,” said Jessica Jaswal, an Evergreen student who knew both boys and arranged the candlelight vigil. “It’s a real tragedy. We held the vigil to show everyone how great Sunny (Kahlon) and Jasdeep really were and that they left behind a legacy. They will always be in our hearts.”

Both boys were very close to their families, she said, and both sets of parents attended the vigil and gladly accepted the loving comments from the boys’ friends.

“Both Sunny and Jasdeep were goal oriented. They planned to go to Berkeley and hoped to make their families proud,” Jaswal said.

The two had the uncanny ability to walk into a room and clear any tension that may exist, Jaswal added. That’s how Kahlon got the nickname of Sunny.

Friends and family gathered at the crash site on June 8 for a candlelight vigil to honor the memories of Amrit Singh “Sunny” Kahlon and Jasdeep Singh Duhra.

“He’d walk into a room and all the tension would go away. He, they both, never judged anyone. They treated everyone equally,” she said.

World History teacher Jan Gliozzo agreed.

“I had the two as sophomores,” Gliozzo said. “Amrit was very outgoing, very bright and very personable. He loved Indian folk dancing, and once invited me to watch him perform. He was very good. Jasdeep was quieter, but neither caused any trouble. I was fond of both; they were nice boys.”

Prior to the school memorial, students wrote messages remembering the boys, which included photos of the two.

“Everyone wore red ribbons. The students were very upset, it was pretty traumatic,” Gliozzo said.

Funeral services were held on Friday, June 8 for Duhra and on Saturday, June 9 for Kahlon.

This is the second tragic accident involving Evergreen students in as many years. In 2005, while looking at colleges with their parents, Torienne and Tristine Hunt were killed following a single-car collision in New Mexico.