Services Delayed for LCHS Alumna

Memorial services for former La Cañada resident and La Cañada High School class of 1997 graduate Becca Jones Vetterani are pending at her First Presbyterian Church in Upland.

Vetterani was killed and her husband, Tom Vetterani, severely injured in a car accident on June 23. The couple have a daughter, Melissa, who is 2.

“We are waiting for her husband’s condition to improve before we plan any sort of memorial service,” said Shelly McCluskie, office manager for the First Presbyterian Church of Upland. “It will probably be two or three months out.”

On June 23, Vetterani, her husband, and nine youths were traveling back to the First Presbyterian Church of Upland from a week-long mission trip in Bishop when a pickup truck with a trailer drifted into their southbound lane. The trailer also hit a southbound sedan.

The van in which the group was traveling caught fire on impact.

Three of the van passengers were killed in addition to Vetterani, who was driving.

“No new information has been brought to light,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Greg Smoak of the Barstow office. “There is a multi-disciplinary investigation team who is working on it.”

The team is in the process of recreating the collision to determine the primary factors of the accident.

“To my knowledge, all but one of the injured parties have been released to home care,” Smoak said.

Known as Becca Jones during her time in La Cañada, Vetterani was an active member of the La Cañada Presbyterian Church as well as a valuable member of the Spartan girls’ basketball team at La Cañada High School.

“She was a wonderful person, a real plus to the school,” remembered then-principal Mike Leininger. “She was a great athlete, involved in all facets of school life — and she was well-liked by her peers.”

First Presbyterian of Upland is currently maintaining two funds to assist the families of the children who were killed in the accident.

The Donny O’Connell Foundation provides funeral assistance to parents who have lost a child; checks can be made out to the Donny O’Connell Foundation and mailed to 1858 Kelly Avenue, Upland, CA 91784.

The First Presbyterian Church of Upland Youth Memorial Fund is accepting donations to assist the families of those killed; checks can be made payable to the First Presbyterian Church of Upland with “Youth Memorial Fund” on the memo line. Donations can be sent to 869 North Euclid Avenue, Upland, CA 91786.

No special fund has been created specifically for Becca Jones Vetterani or for her husband’s care, “but if there is a need, then funds will be made available,” McCluskie said.