Standing in silence, illuminated by candlelight, nearly 50
people showed up to a vigil Wednesday to honor 15-year-old Gilroy
High School student Sarah Botill, who died Dec. 5 of possible
alcohol-related causes.
Standing in silence, illuminated by candlelight, nearly 50 people showed up to a vigil Wednesday to honor 15-year-old Gilroy High School student Sarah Botill, who died Dec. 5 of possible alcohol-related causes.
The 30-minute tribute, which took place at the roundabout between Gilroy Police Department and City Hall, attracted friends, acquaintances and several people who did not know Botill at all. While a few people shared memories of the Gilroy High School student, most attendees talked about the perils of alcohol and encouraged teens to think carefully about their behavior.
“Whether you knew her or not, (Botill’s death was) a horrible situation that everyone can relate to whether you’re a mother or a father or someone our age,” said Gilroy High School senior Erica Bannister, who was a friend of Botill’s. “You just have to think about your decisions.”
Attendees passed around a microphone and shared their thoughts. Many calmly shared their condolences and urged fellow teens to make wise choices, while a few people choked back tears as they recalled the loss of a friend. At one point, they stopped to sing the hymn “Amazing Grace” before more attendees opted to speak.
“It’s a tragedy, and I want to encourage everyone not to drink for that reason,” said Gilroy High School sophomore Hailie Hanoum, who said that her mother was best friends with Botill’s mother, Michelle.
Several students, including Hanoum, said after the vigil that Botill traditionally had not been much of a partier.
“Sarah was a good girl,” said Hanoum, who also belongs to the Youth Advocates program, which helped organize the vigil. “She was raised in a Christian community.”
Sophomore Ashley Tomasetti, a Youth Advocates member whose father works as a firefighter with Botill’s father, Mike, said many high school students have started to think twice about their drinking habits since Botill died.
Friends estimated that more than half of the attendees knew Botill. Other attendees, including Mayor Al Pinheiro, also came to show their support.
Bannister, who hovered near the center median with other friends several minutes after the vigil, said that regardless of how many people showed up, those who came all did so for a reason. She indicated that Botill had left a large impression on her.
“She was really beautiful, really consistent – she just really had a big heart,” Bannister said.
Autumn Ayres, whose son, Evan Pomin, dated Botill, expressed similar sentiments.
“She was a beautiful person, inside and out,” she said.
Ayres wore a T-shirt made by her son that was emblazoned with Botill’s photo, noting that Botill’s picture was placed “right over my heart.” Pomin made about 30 of the shirts to give to Sarah’s friends, Ayres said.
Several friends of Botill who huddled together in the middle of the roundabout after the vigil said they appreciated the event, but they felt there was too much of a media presence at both Monday’s memorial service and at the vigil. The dull hum of television news crews was the only sound to be heard during moments of quiet throughout Wednesday’s event.
One of Botill’s friends, who would not give her name, said that a camera person had asked vigil attendees to move in order to get a better shot. Still, she said she was glad the vigil occurred.
“It was beautiful,” she said.
Communities United in Prevention, a coalition of the Gilroy Police Department and various community groups, organized the vigil with Gilroy High School’s Youth Advocates program.
The coalition organizes a vigil each year that honors the victims of drinking and driving accidents and urges people not to drink and drive during the holiday season. Youth Advocates, which seeks to reduce substance abuse and drinking and driving among teens, decided to dedicate this year’s event in Botill’s honor.
Friends of Botill said that some fellow high school students will likely heed the alcohol safety message stressed by vigil organizers, while others will not.
Still, organizers hope the event would spur students to make wise choices.
“In the end, it’s really up to you as young adults to make decisions that hopefully will be productive in your lives,” Gilroy Unified School District board member and event organizer Francisco Dominguez said.
