Mililani High School began the school day yesterday with a solemn announcement about the Friday-night auto crash that took the life of senior Gillian Badua. Then came a moment of silence.

It was the first day of classes since the crash, and news of Badua's death was on the minds of faculty and students. A grief counselor was brought in, and the school's regular counselors made sure they were available to help.

A handful of students — childhood friends of Badua — spent about an hour talking with counselor Denise Yamamoto, who had counseled the 17-year-old.

"The students I had this morning, they were really affected by it," said Yamamoto. "Because I knew Gillian, we kind of shared funny stories about her. I had them go through their favorite memory of Gillian. They said they had so many. ... They were all saying how she was so fun and kind of told it like it was. That was Gill."

Badua was sitting in the back seat of a red 1994 Volkswagen Jetta when it crashed into a tree in Mililani Friday night. The crash killed Badua and sent two young men, also from Mililani, to a hospital. The 18-year-old front-seat passenger was in critical condition, and the 21-year-old driver was in serious condition.

An autopsy determined that Badua died of multiple internal injuries.

Principal John Brummel sat in a couple of classrooms where teachers talked to students about what happened.

"This one particular teacher was talking about, 'Make sure your parents know where you're at and what's going on in your life, etc.,' " Brummel said. "I think all of them were counselors today for part of the morning."

The students in those classes were "very quiet," he said. "They were listeners today, the classrooms that I attended."

Yamamoto first heard about the deadly crash Friday night on the news and immediately called her daughter — a Mililani High School sophomore — "just to hear her voice" and make sure she was safe. She said her "heart just sank" on Sunday when she learned the auto crash victim was Badua.

"She did have so much promise," said Yamamoto, who exchanged e-mails with Badua's mother yesterday morning. "If she had obstacles, she could overcome. She came so far, so it's sad and tragic that it came to this end."

Yamamoto said Badua, whose two younger brothers attend Mililani High School, had told her she wanted to look into a future in modeling or cooking.

She hopes this tragedy will encourage more parents to talk to their children about how to be safe.

"It's unfortunate that something like this had to happen — so tragic — but if it will help open communication with families, if anything, that should be a legacy that Gillian leaves," she said. "That it opened up communication and helped to keep other friends ... and other students safe."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.