Kayla Dopp, 9, dies in car accident Kayla Dopp, 9, dies in car accident (August 03, 2005)

Kayla Lani Dopp, one of five children of Dr. Lani Warren and Dr. Frank Dopp of Atherton, died July 23 in a car accident. She was 9 years old.

Kayla had a sunny disposition and touched many people with her kindness and curiosity, her family said.

Kayla was traveling with her sister Alana in Harmony, California, at the time of the accident.

The girls' babysitter, Maria Helena Machado Balliet, was at the wheel and lost control of the Dodge Caravan while attempting to turn off of Highway 1 and onto Harmony Valley Road, the California Highway Patrol's San Luis Obispo office reported.

The van ran off the road and fell about 30 feet, landing on its front end in a rock-covered ravine, said CHP spokesman Joe Vega.

Kayla died instantly from a head injury. Alana, who was sitting in the front seat, survived with minor injuries, and Ms. Machado Balliet suffered major injuries to her arms and legs.

They were both wearing their seat belts, Mr. Vega said. The shoulder harness of Kayla's seat belt was tucked under her arms in front of her chest at the time of the accident, he said.

According to the coroner's report, Kayla's death might have been prevented had she been wearing the seat belt properly, Mr. Vega said.

The CHP is still investigating the accident, and no decision has been made yet whether to press charges against Ms. Machado Balliet, Mr. Vega said.

The sisters had gone out for ice cream and were singing songs in the car just before the accident occurred, family members said.

Kayla was a student at Woodland School in Portola Valley, where she would have started fourth grade in the fall.

An enthusiastic and graceful ice skater, she belonged to the Palomares Figure Skating Club in Redwood City, her family said.

On the home page of the club's Web site is a large picture of Kayla and a memorial that reads, in part: "Her love of the sport was known to all and she was a bright spot at the rinks she frequented. Kayla always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye and will be deeply missed by us all."

At Woodland School, Kayla was a member of the third-grade girls basketball team and a baton twirler with the K&K Twirling Team.

In addition to her parents, she is survived by her siblings, Ken, Alana, Lia and Richard Dopp; and her grandparents, Richard and Rosalie Warren of Atherton and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Dopp of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A funeral Mass at St. Raymond Church was held, with arrangements by Roller Hapgood & Tinney Funeral Home.

A memorial fund has been created in Kayla's name that will provide for an annual "spirit" trophy to be given out at the annual Chabot Skate competition, hosted by the Palomares Figure Skating Club in Redwood City.

The fund will also be used to support a memorial garden in her honor at Woodland School.

Donations made to the Kayla Dopp Memorial Fund may be sent to Bank of America, attn: Tony Yamini, 633 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025.

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