Dozens gather to mourn San Jose mother
Teen was pregnant when she died; baby Christopher improving
SAN JOSE — Cradling candles and balloons, dozens of people gathered at Valley Medical Center this week to remember Dulce Capetillo, a young San Jose woman who gave birth after suffering fatal injuries in a recent car crash.
“I know that God has shined on Dulce,” Pastor Nicolas Hernandez told the somber crowd of mostly friends and family who assembled Wednesday on the top floor of a parking garage at the hospital. “And that is why we are here tonight. ... Her light is in our hearts.”
Even as the crowd mourned the 18-year-old’s death, they had cause to celebrate: Her son, Christo- pher, is now drinking from a bottle and no longer tethered to medical equipment.
“Obviously, all of this has taken a toll on us, but we’re just so grateful that he is making a recovery because we were told he probably would not make it,” said Capetillo’s aunt, Yesenia Ortiz, 36, of San Jose.
Christopher was initially listed in critical condition because he was born two months premature. His condition was upgraded to serious last week. Ortiz said the infant was not otherwise injured in the Aug. 17 crash that claimed his mother’s life and seriously injured his uncle.
Elsa Lopez organized the vigil through her faithbased nonprofit From the Streets to the Grave. She launched the organization after her 17-year-old son, Anthony Santa Cruz Sr., was stabbed to death in 2013, a killing that remains unsolved. To date, she has organized 45 events to remember loved ones lost to homicides, overdoses and car crashes.
“It’s something that helps me also with my grief,” Lopez said. “It helps me when I see another mother in the same situation. I can just be there for her and tell her, ‘I share the same pain.’ ”
Ortiz said her niece was looking forward to being a mother and worked hard to save money.
“She was really excited,” Ortiz said. “She just wanted to give the baby whatever she could.”
Capetillo had finished a late shift at a Morgan Hill Taco Bell and was on her way with her brother, Carlos Capetillo-Hernandez, to pick up her boyfriend, Pedro Cortez, from his late shift at an Alum Rock Taco Bell when they collided with a BMW stopped on Highway 101, near Tully Road.
Doctors delivered Christopher as Capetillo lay dying in an operating room at Valley Medical Center.
Capetillo- Hernandez, meanwhile, was treated for internal injuries and a broken wrist at Regional Medical Center. Ortiz said the 20-year-old was released from the hospital earlier this week.
The driver of the BMW, 22-year-old Hung Tran of San Jose, has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Capetillo’s uncle, Rodrigo Hernandez, attended the vigil. The 46-year-old San Jose resident recalled having to pester his niece to eat when she visited him on the weekends.
“She was always really picky,” he said with a smile.
Rodrigo Hernandez and Ortiz marveled at the outpouring of support from the community. As of Thursday, more than $17,000 had been raised to cover Capetillo’s funeral costs and Christopher’s medical bills. Those with no money to give have offered baby clothes and prayers.
Private burial services for Capetillo are scheduled to take place next week at Oak Hill Memorial Park.
“It’s really hard because Dulce isn’t here with us and she didn’t get to meet her baby, Christopher,” Ortiz said. “But we’re grateful that we have something that she left behind for us, and we’re just praying and hoping that he makes a full recovery and comes home healthy.”