Los Gatos High School senior Eric Quesada, 18, suffered major head injuries when he and three other students, all minors, were involved in a Nov. 26 alcohol-related car accident. Quesada died the day after Thanksgiving. The 16-year-old male driver of the vehicle is in custody for the felony of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing great bodily injury.

The female passenger, Kellin Dunne, remains in the hospital, in "stable condition" for a broken foot, broken leg, broken knee, broken back and head injuries. Another underage male was in the car and was treated and released for minor injuries.

According to Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Capt. Duino Giordano, county sheriff's officers had "responded to complaints of a party, 50 or 75 people there," up on Hicks and Wagner roads on the night of Nov. 26. "Sounds like, to me, it was a high school party," Giordano said.

Officers dispersed the group of partygoers and received the call of a car accident less than an hour later.

A Chevrolet Tahoe driving on Hicks had crashed into a telephone pole just in front of Los Gatos Christian Church. The vehicle had then rolled and came to a rest on its side.

Giordano said the three minors were all born in 1986. It has not been determined if any other passengers besides the driver were intoxicated. "There were alcohol containers in the car. To the extent that they were all consuming, I don't know," Giordano said. The coroner's office took samples of Quesada's blood and will run tests that will show if he also had been drinking.

The next step is for the young driver to be arraigned. Sgt. Tim Morgan said police are awaiting results from his blood-alcohol tests, as well as the speed of the Tahoe. Morgan also said police and the district attorney will determine the charges for the driver and whether or not he will be tried as an adult. "We have to be able to prove gross negligence on the part of the driver in order to charge vehicular manslaughter," Morgan said.

Morgan said the students had all attended the annual event"Every 15 Minutes," held by Los Gatos High and the police department, which simulated drunk driving deaths.

The day after Quesada died, Morgan said, officers arrested other Los Gatos High School students for possessing and consuming alcohol in a car. "I don't get it. I just don't understand," Morgan said. "I don't know what more the school and the police department can do."

According to Morgan, there are many residents in the community who have been contacted on "numerous occasions" for their children possessing alcohol, and yet keep allowing it to happen. "It's absolutely ridiculous," Morgan said. "This should have been a preventable crash by parents taking full responsibility for their kids' actions."

"This affects the entire community," Morgan said. "It hits home."