By Bay City News Service
The Bay Area burlesque community is mourning the loss of a noted performer who was killed in a crash involving a car and a party bus on U.S. Highway 101 in Burlingame on Sunday morning.
Sarah Thomasen Klein, 36, of San Mateo -- also known by her stage name "Sparkly Devil" -- was a co-founder and performer with the San Francisco-based burlesque troupe Hubba Hubba Revue.
In a statement posted on the troupe's website, co-founder and producer Jim Sweeney called Klein "amazing, powerful, immensely loved and talented."
"Our grief is immeasurable, and the shock and anguish felt by our entire national and international burlesque community is already staggering," Sweeney wrote.
"A terrible void has appeared where before there was a glittering, wonderful, irreplaceable friend and performer."
Fellow performers and friends took to Sparkly Devil's Facebook page to post their condolences.
Delilah D'bauchee wrote: "Shocked angry, saddened, heartbroken. It was always a pleasure performing with you! Your energy, humor and tenacity are/were inspirational!!!"
On Tuesday morning, Champagne Sparkles wrote, "My heart aches for the family and friends of Sparkly Devil, she truly dazzled on stage and off. An enormous loss for our community and all those she loved and loved her."
California Highway Patrol Officer Art Montiel said Klein was in a Honda coupe traveling south on Highway 101 when the vehicle struck the center divide near the Broadway exit at about 2:05 a.m.
Klein's husband, 43-year-old Raul Padilla, was driving, Montiel said. According to preliminary information, the Honda spun around and came to rest facing north in the southbound lanes, Montiel said.
A party bus with 18 people on board then struck the Honda head on. Klein was pronounced dead at the scene. Padilla was taken to Stanford Hospital in critical condition.
Ten people aboard the bus suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to Stanford and San Francisco General hospitals for treatment, Montiel said. Most have since been released, he said.
The crash remains under investigation by the CHP. Montiel said there was an odor of alcohol in the car after the crash but that authorities are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether Padilla was drunk at the time of the accident.
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