Sophomore clings to life after crash

By Jack Gillum

A Santa Clara sophomore remains in critical condition at a Sacramento-area hospital after he sustained serious injuries from a car accident this month, authorities said Tuesday.

Braden Pivirotto, 20, was injured when his late-model Jeep Grand Cherokee veered off of Interstate 80 near Kingvale on Dec. 12, said Officer Richard Ruiz, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

In an e-mail update to Dunne Hall residents Dec. 23, Faculty Director Arthur Liebscher, S.J., said Pivirotto sustained severe head trauma from the crash.

CHP investigators say Pivirotto may have fallen asleep at the wheel, drove onto the freeway's median and crashed head-on into a pine tree while driving home from skiing.

A passenger, 19-year-old Erik Hawkins-Flasker, was airlifted to a separate hospital in Reno, Nev. It was unknown if he was a Santa Clara student.

Both were wearing seat belts, Ruiz said. No other vehicles were involved, and no one else was in the car.

Kingvale is about 90 miles northeast of Sacramento and is on the way to Lake Tahoe.

Housing staff in Dunne, where Pivirotto was a community facilitator, said he was in "very critical" condition in early December.

"He has made much progress, and there is hope," Liebscher said in an e-mail two days before Christmas.

The CHP advises motorists, particularly those who may drive for hours after a long day of skiing, to be well-rested before their journey home and to split-up driving with a friend.