A sharp sorrow gripped a San Jose community Tuesday when 29-year-old Ivana Balistreri and her one-year-old daughter, Lilliana — known affectionately to family as “Lilly Bean” — were killed in a devastating, fiery four-vehicle crash on northbound California State Route 87 just north of Curtner Avenue.
The collision took place at approximately 10:49 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Four cars were involved: two Tesla vehicles, a Lexus — where Ivana and Lilliana rode — and a Toyota Sienna minivan. Three of those cars — both Teslas and the Lexus — burst into flames in the aftermath.
First responders arriving on scene faced raging fire fed by the wreckage. Fire crews managed to extinguish the flames, but the damage had already been done. Ivana and Lilliana died in the Lexus; their presence in the back seat meant they had little chance once the crash erupted.
Two others were rushed to hospital: the driver of the Lexus, whose condition remains unclear, and a driver of one of the Teslas. Meanwhile, the driver of the Toyota Sienna stayed at the scene and cooperated fully with investigators; the minivan did not catch fire and sustained only rear-end damage.
CHP says initial findings offer no hint of alcohol or drugs in the vehicles; investigators are poring over all evidence — witness statements, vehicle data and roadway clues — to try to piece together what triggered the deadly chain reaction.
For the Balistreri family, the blow is incomprehensible. Ivana, the youngest of four siblings in a large Sicilian household, was recently engaged; Lilliana’s second birthday would have come on December 16. Family members say Ivana had a spirit that lit up every room, and that little Lilly — even at short one year — brought boundless light. “She was a light, she lit up every room she walked into,” her sister said through tears.
A public fundraiser has been set up to help with the funeral and other expenses. But more than money, relatives say what they ache for most is understanding: why this happened, how lives changed in a single instant. They hope anyone with information, photos or video — especially around the Curtner Ave. stretch of Hwy. 87 — will come forward.
As investigators work, the community mourns with the Balistreris — two bright and innocent lives gone. The crash is a tragic reminder of how fragile life is, how quickly a normal drive can turn into heartbreak.
