The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office on Thursday identified 15-year-old Ash He as the Palo Alto High School student who was struck and killed by a Caltrain on March 4 at the Churchill Avenue crossing.
Ash was nonbinary, the coroner said.
A GoFundMe page was set up on Thursday to raise $30,000 to “cover memorial expenses, ease financial burdens, and allow their loved ones the space to grieve without additional stress.”
The page begins with the following: “With heavy hearts, we share the devastating news of the sudden passing of Ash, a beloved Palo Alto High School 10th grader who brought light, creativity, and joy to those around them. Ash had a deep passion for art and theater, using their immense talent to express themselves and bring people together.”
The author of the page, A. Wong, concludes by saying, “Thank you for your love, support, and generosity. Let’s stand together to celebrate the beautiful life of Ash and lift up their family in this time of need.”
In nine hours, people had donated $24,260 — 81% of the page’s goal.
The death has caused a period of mourning and grief at the Palo Alto Unified School District.
“As we move forward together, let us honor our lost student by taking care of ourselves and each other. Let us remember that in both and joy and sorrow, we are one community,” board member Shana Segal said at a meeting on Tuesday.
RIP, Ash. You were loved by many!
Was Ash receiving any kind of gender affirming care? Too many people in his situation turn to suicide. This is such a tragedy.
That’s not really anyone’s concern.
It is if it was the cause of bullying at PAUSD and PAUSD didn’t protect Ash and it ultimately was part of the picture of what happened in front of multiple witnesses and bystanders.
It looks like the author used an incorrect pronoun in this sentence: “He was nonbinary.” Please correct it.
They will be mourned, missed, and remembered.
Never mind, I just realized that “He” was their surname. So sorry for the mistake (though it might be worth rephrasing to avoid confusing the pronoun with the name?).
(Moderators: please delete my previous comment to avoid confusion/unnecessary offense, if you don’t mind)
Wow, we need a trigger warning, but in this case a warning about someone who is looking for any excuse to get triggered… and then gets egg on their face!
Youre such a clown Elphia
We should say as little as possible about suicides, and newspapers should never mention them. If we don’t talk about them, they won’t happen anymore.
Well… Not exactly. There are studies supporting that excessive idolization of suicide victims can result in copycat deaths. However, we absolutely should talk about suicide when not in connection with an individual. People need to recognize signs in themselves or others in order to get help.
Please don’t use my name to say things like this that I disagree with. It should be public. All the students at the school already knew who it was and they wioikd have told students from other schools as well so I don’t know who we would hiding it from.
Caroline, That’s just not how life works. Living in denial or withholding necessary information is not an adequate answer to the problem. People, young people in particular, are hurting and need to be heard and helped as needed. I’m giving a serious response though honestly I could not tell if the original post was serious or being sarcastic.
What a tragedy. My heart breaks for Ash and their family and friends.
Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call 1-855-278-4204. And please know there is affirming support for nonbinary and other LGBTQIA+ teens at Outlet, part of Adolescent Counseling Services. You are not alone, and we love you and want you to thrive!
I used to live near that train crossing. I will hold Ash’s memory in my heart. I can feel the pain, heartache and relief in Ash’s personal decision. So tragic – a painful time in one’s life that older people can understand is just a moment in time, but for an adolescent feels like forevermore. Emotions are temporary. Situations change. (Note to other adolescents it’s just a painful moment in time. Situations change!)
I am so sorry to all loved ones left behind. This is a tragic loss. I agree that the loss should be recognized, but not upheld as an example of courage that may *encourage* another peer to do the same. A delicate balance.
Sadly there were a number of student suicides when my two daughters attended Paly in the early 2000’s. It’s heartbreaking for the friends and families along with the community but we should include the engineers of the trains who unwillingly were involved in these deaths. I imagine it haunts them for the rest of their lives.
As a train engineer who has experienced these situations 6 times myself, I can attest to this. Thank You for you kind thoughts, hardly anyone thinks about us when these incidents happen.
As a train engineer who has experienced these situations more times than I’d like to remember, I can attest to this. Thank You for thinking about us, people usually forget the struggles we endure after being forced to participate in these incidents.
Why can’t we, as a community, use this lovely child’s tragic death as a means to bring us together? We can all make a concerted effort to support, protect, listen to and hear ALL our young people, particularly gay, lesbian and transgender kids? It’s so very easy for teens to feel hopeless and desperate, but having an adult or adults that offer a place to go, a non-judgemental ear to listen and just their time can make all the difference in the world.
Drag queen story hour – it’s all fun and games, until somebody loses a child.
I have son who is currently a student at Paly. I sensed that he is being bullied at school, he lost his interest, and motivation to go school. Doesn’t have a friend.
Pruor to this imcident, I emailed the Principal if there is any support from the school that they can implement, like buddy system. But no response. It is very unfortunate that there’s no support from the school that could help the student who desperately want to be seen and heard at Paly. Very heart breaking.