MARIN COUNTY, CA — A UC Berkeley student was killed early Sunday in a crash on Interstate 580 near San Quentin after the driver fell asleep behind the wheel, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Paloma Fabiana Guadalupe Foster, 35, of Fullerton, was a passenger in a Nissan Versa traveling eastbound on I-580 around 1:40 a.m., according to the CHP and the Marin County Coroner's Office.
Investigators said the 32-year-old Oakland man driving the car fell asleep, causing the Nissan to strike the center median wall before veering across the highway, leaving the roadway and crashing into a hillside near the San Quentin exit.
Foster was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.
The driver and a 7-year-old boy riding in the back seat were not injured, CHP said. According to KTVU and a GoFundMe campaign organized by a friend, the boy is Foster's son, Cairo.
The three were returning from the GrooveWell Vacation festival in Mendocino County when the crash occurred, KTVU reported.
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Friends described Foster as a first-generation Mexican American, former foster youth and formerly incarcerated student who returned to college with the goal of improving the systems that had shaped her life.
According to the fundraiser, Foster was majoring in political science at UC Berkeley, pursuing a minor in public policy and completing a summer minor in race and the law. She planned to apply to concurrent law and public policy graduate programs and hoped to work in government advocating for marginalized communities.
The UC Berkeley community mourned the loss at a vigil held on Tuesday.
"Paloma was the sweetest, most loving, and caring soul, always ready to offer a helping hand to anyone in need," the fundraiser states. "Her determination, ambition, and kindness touched everyone she met."
The organizer said Foster had recently received a scholarship from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund's Empowering Courageous Leaders program and dreamed of becoming a foster parent while building a life "where her son would be proud of his mom."
The fundraiser is seeking donations to help pay for funeral expenses and support Cairo following his mother's death.
CHP said drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have played a role in the crash, and no arrests were made. The investigation remains ongoing.
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