San Jose, Calif. — The sun had barely lifted above the skyline when a devastating crash on Highway 87 near the Curtner Avenue exit ended two lives and altered many others forever.

Authorities confirmed that 29-year-old Ivana Balistreri and her 1-year-old daughter, Lilliana, were killed in the early-morning collision, turning what should have been an ordinary start to the day into an irreversible tragedy.

The loss has sent shockwaves through their family and the wider San Jose community.

At the Balistreri family home, a quiet memorial has taken shape: fresh flowers, framed photographs, and a pair of tiny shoes resting beside keepsakes from a young mother’s life.

Each item speaks to a bond that was inseparable and to a future that will now exist only in memory.

Relatives describe Ivana as a woman whose presence made people feel instantly welcome. Her sister, Francesca Alexander, said Ivana had a rare warmth that drew others in.

“She brought light wherever she went,” she recalled. “She had a way of making people feel seen and loved.”

As the youngest of four siblings in a close-knit Sicilian family, Ivana was at the center of daily life.

Her father, Aurelio, shared his grief in simple terms: “She was my baby.

She never drove — I took her to work every day.” Losing both his daughter and granddaughter in a single moment, he said, is a pain beyond words.

According to the family, the morning began like many others. Ivana was traveling to work with her fiancé driving, while Lilliana sat beside her mother.

The child was just weeks away from her second birthday.

Plans for upcoming milestones — birthdays, holidays, first days of school — were already filling conversations at home. None of those moments will now come.

Lilliana’s arrival had brought special joy to the family. She was the first baby girl born into the family in 18 years, a fact that made her presence all the more cherished.

Her cousin and godmother, Ilenia, remembered the excitement the toddler sparked wherever she went.

“Her laughter, her curiosity, her tiny footsteps — she changed our family in ways we didn’t even know we needed,” she said.

Those who knew Ivana speak not only of loss, but of a life vividly lived. A cousin, Alexia, recalled Ivana’s creativity, her love for vintage fashion and classic films, and her vibrant sense of humor.

“She loved old movies, especially from the 1970s,” she said. “Everything about her was full of color and energy.”

In keeping with that spirit, the family has asked that mourners attending Ivana’s memorial wear bright, colorful clothing and bring flowers — a tribute meant to celebrate life rather than focus solely on sorrow.

It is a reflection, they say, of the joy Ivana shared and the way she approached every day with enthusiasm.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.

The family has urged anyone who may have witnessed the events leading up to the collision to come forward.

“We may never have full closure,” Francesca said, “but even one detail could help us understand what happened — and possibly prevent another family from experiencing this kind of loss.”

Beyond the immediate grief lies a deeper devastation: the sudden erasure of a shared future.

Ivana’s dreams, her plans for her daughter, and Lilliana’s first steps into the world were taken in a single, irreversible instant.

Their absence is felt not only in major celebrations, but in the quiet routines of everyday life where love is most often expressed.

Yet amid the sorrow, the family has chosen to honor what remains. Stories are shared, laughter mixes with tears, and memories become a way to keep Ivana and Lilliana close.

The small memorial at the family home stands as a symbol of that commitment — proof that while lives can be cut short, love endures.

As neighbors, friends, and strangers offer prayers, messages, and small acts of kindness, the family says the support has mattered.

Each gesture acknowledges the joy Ivana and Lilliana brought into the world and the depth of the loss left behind.

Their story is a stark reminder of life’s fragility and the importance of cherishing every moment.

Ivana Balistreri and her daughter Lilliana may be gone, but the light they shared — the bond between mother and child, the joy found in ordinary days — continues to live on in the memories of those who loved them.