SAN JOSE, CA : Memorial to dead motorist causes uproar after friends leave beer cans on Sunday, December 25th 2016

A day after a young mother died in a possible DUI crash that also killed a teenage boy, her friends and family grieved the loss while enduring some harsh criticism on social media.

A roadside memorial of flowers, candles and beer containers sprang up on Capitol Expressway near Snell Avenue at the site of the fatal Christmas collision, where loved ones of Jessica Marie Zamora, 25, held vigils Sunday and Monday nights.

But the display early Monday of alcohol — a traditional tribute for some — stirred an online controversy because police have identified alcohol as a possible factor in the crash. Commenters lashed out at Zamora for causing the wreck and lambasted the display as insensitive.

Weeping loved ones of Zamora removed beer cans and begged friends to refrain from bringing more.

“She made a mistake, and nobody’s perfect,” a tearful Natalie Rojas, grieving over the loss of her best friend, said at the vigil Monday night. “But people need to stop talking bad about her.”

Rojas and a woman who identified herself as Zamora’s younger sister said they are also devastated by the loss of the unidentified 14-year-old boy who was a passenger in the other car.

“We want to tell the family that we’re so sorry about what happened,” Rojas said. “No one deserves to die like that.”

Family members said they are caring for Zamora’s 5-year-old daughter.

The crash was reported shortly before 12:30 a.m. Sunday after the driver of a 2012 Chevy Malibu, traveling west on Capitol, crossed over the center median, police said. The Malibu, operated by Zamora, struck a silver 2004 Lexus driven by a man traveling with his wife and teenage son, all from San Jose.

Everyone involved in the collision was rushed to a hospital, where the 14-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries.

The mother and father of the teen victim were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. The identities of those killed were not publicly released pending formal notification of kin, and efforts to reach the teen’s family were not successful.

But distraught friends identified Zamora. Rojas called her a hardworking single mother, an independent spirit who could be depended on to be there, anytime. She had texted with Zamora shortly before the crash.

“She wanted to come over, but I was so tired I said no,” Rojas said.

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Memorial to dead motorist causes uproar after friends leave beer cans