Piedmont holds holiday light celebration despite grieving 3 college student deaths

PIEDMONT, Calif. - As community members were still grieving the loss of three 2023 Piedmont High graduates dying in a Cybertruck crash last week, the small city gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the winter holidays with the lighting of a Christmas tree and menorah.

The Piedmont Beautification Foundation held its third annual "Lights Up Piedmont" holiday light celebration.

And a Make-A-Wish recipient, Louis Rose of Oakland, who has been battling cancer for two years, helped light the tree. 

"The mayor was talking about how this light is a symbol of hope," Louis' father, Evan Rose, said. "When it gets darker through the year, we're having hope and this was a nice way to signify that."

The lighting came one week after three college sophomores, all of whom graduated from Piedmont High, were killed while riding in a Cybertruck on the day before Thanksgiving. A fourth person, Jordan Miller, was pulled out of the vehicle, which slammed into a retaining wall and burst into flames. 

Those killed were: Soren Dixon, Krysta Tsukahara, Jack Nelson. 

(L-R) Soren Dixon, Krysta Tsukahara and Jack Nelson, all 2023 Piedmont High graduates, were killed in a crash in Piedmont on Nov. 27, 2024. Photo: City of Piedmont 

Capt. Chris Monahan would not disclose who was driving or who owned the vehicle. 

He said the Cybertruck was taken by the California Highway Patrol, the primary investigating agency. 

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration will also eventually investigate, the agency said.

This is the second community event Piedmont has held since the tragedy. 

The first was the annual Turkey Trot, where Mayor Jen Cavenaugh addressed the grief many people are feeling. 

"These things aren't supposed to happen in our community," she said on Thanksgiving Day. "We don't get a practice ground for this, and there's no rulebook for how we show up today. I went to bed last night thinking the words might come today for what to say. It turned out there are no words that will bring these kids back to us."