Teachers killed in Ontario crash remembered by students, colleagues

Deandre Perry drove by Moreno Valley High School on Monday night but could not bring himself to walk in.

Out on the pavement, hundreds of students stood sobbing. Candles were lighted and a poster read: “God only takes the best.”

On Saturday, Ryan Villalpando, 32, the school’s offensive-line football coach, was killed in a fiery freeway wreck along with his 29-year-old wife, Veronica, and their two children, 4-year-old Mateo and 7-month-old Bella Rose.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Perry, who graduated from the school in 2006.

The Villalpandos’ Honda Pilot burst into flames after it got wedged between two tractor-trailers on the southbound 15 Freeway in Ontario.

“It seems there were a couple of passersby who did try to get them out, but the flames were too hot,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Briggs.

The crash, which remains under investigation, resulted in a seven-vehicle pileup, but no other major injuries were reported.

The Redlands family had been shopping in Ontario and was headed to Moreno Valley to meet Ryan Villalpando’s parents for pizza, his sister Erikka Villalpando told the Press-Enterprise of Riverside. “Never more than a day went by when we didn’t speak to each other,” she said.

Ryan’s father, Edward, who joined relatives, students and teachers at the vigil, told KCAL-TV Channel 9 that his son “had a bark, but he had a heart, a huge heart.” Football players honored their coach at the Monday night gathering by huddling and performing a Haka warrior dance.

In San Bernardino, Veronica Villalpando’s second-grade students struggled to understand why their teacher did not show up to class.

At the Norton Space and Aeronautics Academy, a charter school, she was known for her vivacious teaching style, said Gordon Soholt, chief academic officer. “She meant everything to our school, to our parents and our students,” he said. “She was highly involved and active.”

Soholt said the teacher was working on her second master’s degree.

Ryan Villalpando, who would often help his wife in her classroom on his days off, had just completed his administrative credential.

On Tuesday, grief counselors were on both campuses to help students and staff.

“It’s such a tragedy,” said Maribel Mattox, the principal of Moreno Valley High School. “It’s moments like this when students can express just how much teachers mean to them.”

Perry was among them.

The 20-year-old said Villalpando, also known as “Ryno” or “Coach V,” was one of the few teachers who inspired him to focus on his studies.

“Things were rocky at first because I really didn’t like to take directions from people,” Perry said. “But Mr. Villalpando was one of those teachers you could see as a friend.”

esmeralda.bermudez@latimes.com