Big Sur, CA : Martinez resident Tom Beninger, beloved retired San Jose teacher, identified as crash victim on Thursday September 25th 2014

Tom Beninger, a retired and beloved San Jose teacher, died Thursday night after losing control of his cherished 1972 Volkswagon Beetle -- the same car that had carried him through a lifetime of adventures. The 66-year-old was identified Saturday by his sister, Judy Goode. According to the California Highway Patrol, Beninger was driving south on Highway 1 about 8:30 p.m. when he slammed into a tree. He was alone in the car, and the CHP said there was no indication drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident. A former teacher at Davis Intermediate School in San Jose, Goode said Beninger was born in Richmond and grew up with his five siblings in Martinez, where he recently moved. She described her brother as a Renaissance man. A vegetarian since his early 20s, "when it wasn't cool," she said, he dabbled in photography and saw the country through the windshield of his cherished 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, driving from Canada to Mexico and this year's Burning Man in Nevada. "He lived in a postcard," Goode said. 'A MARVELOUS TEACHER' Because he never had his own children, his sister said, "he took on a lot of others," referring to his students, whom he often took hunting and on hikes to share his love of nature. "He was an adventurer. He loved people. He was always upbeat," she said, adding that his fatal accident was a surprise because he was such a cautious driver. Advertisement Manny Barbara, a former principal at Davis, called Beninger's death "a big loss'' for the Davis school community. "He was a good man and a marvelous teacher -- the kids just loved him," said Barbara, who later moved on to become superintendent of the Oak Grove School District. Barbara recalled with astonishment how Beninger would greet each of his students by name, every day -- five classes a day, 30 students a class. "I've never forgotten that," said Barbara. "He always did this, until the day he retired. And every time you went into his classroom, it was a situation where the students were always engaged." "Students," he said, "knew he really cared for them. He was one of the most compassionate human beings I have ever known." In 2009, Beninger organized a Facebook campaign to raise $10,000 to help pay the medical bills of a 14-year-old former student of his at Davis who was suffering from bone cancer in her right leg. It was such a successful effort that he wound up raising $20,000 within a few months. He announced that achievement during the school's commencement ceremony as the girl, Leanna Tran, was wheeled across the stage amid a standing ovation to become the first official graduate that year. A seventh-grade life science teacher at Davis -- who shaved his head and encouraged others to do the same in symbolic support of Leanna -- Beninger was quoted in a news story about the event that he was overwhelmed with the community's response. "I've been on this roller coaster" since learning of Leanna's medical problem, he said. "It's all really powerful because she didn't think she would graduate." BELOVED VW BEETLE Beninger also was a huge Volkswagen fan. In 2001, he was interviewed for another story when he showed up at an Oroville event dubbed the Precious Metal VW Car Show and Swapmeet, where enthusiasts of the car showed off their vehicles and competed for prizes. Having owned a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, he had driven his 1984 yellow Beetle 3,300 miles to visit his sister in Martinez and to attend the car show, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record, which covered the event. Beninger said it took him five days to cross the border with the Mexican car because he tried to import it into the U.S. and had problems with California's smog laws. He leaves a wife, Annemieke. Source : Martinez resident Tom Beninger, beloved retired San Jose teacher, identified as crash victim