Three childhood friends from Oceano died early Wednesday in Arroyo Grande when their car crashed into another vehicle.
The 1:47 a.m. crash killed Manuel Medina, 18, Gabriel Gonzalez, 20, and Jessica Jacome, 19, who had known each other since preschool. Two other friends, driver Andre M. Quintanar Sr., 19, and Lupe Castillo, whose age was not available, suffered moderate injuries.
All five grew up in the same Oceano neighborhood and attended Arroyo Grande High School together, friends...
Manuel Medina, 18, carried a photo album of his infant daughter, Kaitlynn, in the front seat of his car, showing it proudly to everyone who sat down.
"She was just a year old, but she adored him," said Medina's half-brother, Frank Ramirez. "Whenever she saw her dad, her eyes would light up and she would have this look all over her face.
"Nobody can ever replace that."
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OCEANO VICTIM REMEMBERED A YEAR AFTER WRECK
Gathered around a sweet gum tree off Oak Park Boulevard in Arroyo Grande, more than two dozen family members and friends bowed their heads and listened to the voice of aspiring emcee Gabriel Gonzalez over the sound of muffled cries and passing cars.
Gonzalez's words flowed out of the speakers of a small boom box -- the only way family and friends can hear the 20-year-old's voice. The Oceano man died July 20, 2005, in a car wreck that also killed two of his childhood friends....