Seniors at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo will not attend classes today so that they may attend the funeral for their classmate Blake Bottarini, the Redwood City 17-year-old who died in car accident on his way to school Monday, Aug. 27.
The funeral is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. at St. Pius Church in Redwood City.
The community is in mourning following the passing of the well-loved Bottarini, who leaves behind his twin brother, Evan, parents Ross and Julie of Redwood City, as well as his grandparents, aunts, cousins and more.
In his obituary, Blake was described as an avid sportsman — competing on the Serra Crew Team, training in boxing, and also enjoying snowboarding and wakeboarding.
“He enjoyed snowboarding with his mom in Tahoe and working on his racecar with his dad, and he loved gaming and playing Airsoft with his friends,” the obit stated.
Following news of his passing, officials at Serra High described Bottarini as a “kind and caring young man” beloved in the school community.
A gofundme.com account set up to support his family has amassed over $60,000 from over 500 donors in just nine days. The fundraiser’s goal was to raise $15,000.
“Heartbroken, devastated, tragic…words cannot describe how we feel for the loss of such a great kid,” said one donor one of the many expressing similar sentiments in the community.
The tragic accident occurred Monday morning when Bottarini’s truck veered off of the road in the 15000 block of Skyline Boulevard in unincorporated San Mateo County, went down an embankment and struck a tree, authorities said today. The truck wasn’t discovered until early afternoon Monday, when a San Mateo County sheriff’s deputy spotted the truck, which wasn’t visible from the road, and reported it to the California Highway Patrol. Bottarini was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP said. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to have been factors in the crash.
Photo: Junipero Serra High
