Le Grand Elementary school students mourn classmate killed in hit-and-run

Staff and students at Le Grand Elementary School are mourning the death of a sixth-grade student killed this week in hit-and-run crash in Modesto.

The 11-year-old boy was identified Wednesday as Yeidkol Rangel by the Stanislaus Coroner's Office.

Students and staff are in shock and sending out their prayers to the family Le Grand Elementary Assistant Principal Maria Smith told the Merced Sun-Star.

Yeidkol’s 9-year-old sister, Maria Rangel, suffered major injuries.

The girl, a third-grader at the same school, was transferred from a Modesto hospital to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, according to Tom Olsen, public information officer for CHP in Modesto. There was no update on her condition.

Children at the school are turning their grief into something positive by trying to help the Rangel family, Smith said. They are raising funds for the family by selling T-shirts with Yeidkol’s picture and the words “No one can fill his spot in our hearts.”

The back of the black shirt has his name with the number “10,” the number of his favorite professional soccer player, Argentine star Lionel Messi.

“They came up with this all on their own,” Smith said. “The kids had a lot of emotion and turned them into something proactive to help the family.”

Although this was Yeidkol’s first year in their district, Smith said, he made “friends very readily” and had a “great personality.”

“He was a sweet student and very kind,” she said.

The two-car crash occurred just before 11 p.m. in west Modesto when a 2016 Dodge sedan struck the 2012 Toyota sedan carrying the Rangel family.

The diver of the Dodge, 31-year-old Traves Oscar Krause from Modesto, fled the scene and was picked up by CHP at his home.

Krause was being held without bail on Wednesday. Olsen said investigators believe driving under the influence was a factor in the crash.

Krause potentially faces charges of murder, felony DUI related to influence of drugs, and felony hit and run causing injury or death.

The driver of the Toyota, 30-year-old Mayra Rangel of Merced, wasn’t injured in the crash. A passenger in the Toyota, Jose Ramirez, 30, from Merced sustained major injuries and was being treated at Memorial Medical Center.

On Thursday, students will sell popcorn and lemonade at the school to help raise money for whatever the family needs, Smith said. Eigth-graders decided to give proceeds from class fundraiser to the Rangel family.

“The whole campus is pulling together,” Smith said.

“We’re a small community, we’re family,” she said, “so, when we lose somebody, it's difficult.”

Donations for the Rangel family can be made via a crowdfunding account at https://www.youcaring.com/mayrarangel-776931.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Le Grand Elementary school students mourn classmate killed in hit-and-run."