Teen dies from car crash injuries

17-year-old was PUC Prep student

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

A Pacific Union College Preparatory School student died Sunday morning from injuries she suffered Thursday in a single vehicle traffic crash.

Stacey Juliano, 17, of Pope Valley died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office.

Around 9 p.m. on the night of the accident Juliano was northbound on Pope Valley Road near Ink Grade.

Her 1990 Subaru drifted off the roadway and slammed into an oak tree, the California Highway Patrol said. She was airlifted by CHP helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Juliano’s mother Joann Bird, remembered her daughter’s adventurous spirit and love of sports.

“Stacey just loved football,” She said Monday. “She played on her school team. She was a receiver and blocker.

“She was a good kid ... and smart. She had a 4.0 GPA. She was going to be a senior this year. She was also in the school choir.”

Juliano’s love of sports didn’t stop at football, her mother said.

“She loved to go wakeboarding with her friends. And she was really into dirt bikes. Her room is plastered with posters and pictures of dirt bikes. Stacey wasn’t afraid to try anything. She was always ready and willing to take on a challenge. She had a (sunny) disposition and was happy almost all of the time.”

Bird said college was definitely in her daughter’s plans, though she had not decided on a career path.

“She didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do with her life. And we didn’t want to push her,” Bird said. “And very importantly, Stacey took her stand for Christ when she was baptized.”

Juliano was 13 when she was baptized at the Middletown Seventh-day Adventist Church, according to Bird. She worked at College Ace Hardware in Angwin.

“She had worked here for a little over a year. She was a beautiful girl who was liked by most everyone,” said store manager Rob Payne.

“Stacey had a lot of potential. She was one of the best student employees I have ever had. This is so very sad. We are really going to miss her. We are all so sorry for her family.”

In addition to her mother, Juliano is survived by her father, Joseph Juliano of Napa, step-father Charlie Bird and 15-year-old sister Kerry.

CHP investigators do not believe alcohol or drugs were factors in the accident. However, they said she may not have been wearing her seat belt correctly.

As of Monday afternoon, an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death had not been set. The accident is under investigation.

This is the ninth traffic fatality in Napa County this year. All but one of the victims were Napa County residents.

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