STOCKTON, Calif. — For ten days, classes have not been the same on the campus of UEI College in Stockton, instructors say.
Honor roll student Jennifer Ruiz was hit and killed by a car while on her way to class, Nov. 29.
"It hits hard," said Lyndsi Reyes, director of education at UEI College. "We are a very tight family here, we call ourselves the UEI family, so the students really have taken it hard."
Ruiz, who had recently been involved in a separate crash leaving her car totaled, was riding her electric bike on West Lane on her way to campus at the time of the crash.
School officials say Ruiz was just four months away from graduating from the school's electrical program.
For almost a week, family and friends held out hope after she was placed in a coma, but on Dec. 5 the unimaginable became a reality.
"I told [my electrical class] I had some bad news and you could just feel the energy in the air. It was complete silence," said Reyes. "As such a great student here, she would always come over and ask for help when she needed it so we just got to know her on that level."
For Kathy Escobedo, UEI Stockton's associate director of education, the news of Ruiz's passing came with shock and heartbreak.
"She was a determined person. She was determined to turn her life around for her children and for her mother," said Escobedo. "Her vehicle was totaled about a week and a half prior to the accident and that still didn't stop her from coming to class."
School officials have created a GoFundMe page to support Ruiz's family, including her 9-year-old son and 2-month-old baby.
Students and instructors also plan to volunteer at car washes to raise more money and show support. The car washes are set to take place at the college at 4994 Claremont Avenue in Stockton on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"The students have just been very somber, but very willing to come over and ask us, 'how can we help? What can we donate?'" said Reyes. "Everyone's just trying to come together to support however we can."
With a community still deep in mourning and uniting in support of Ruiz's young family, Escobedo has a message for drivers, in hopes of preventing another tragedy.
"Watch your surroundings. Make sure you're not speeding, especially now that it's raining," said Escobedo. "This is an unfortunate situation, and a life was lost. A mother was taken — a daughter, a friend, a classmate, a student and someone that was really determined to start her career."
Watch more Stockton stories from ABC10: Neurodiverse Stockton students throwing annual Christmas-themed pot luck
