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Painful return to school following tragic loss of South Coast teacher over the holidays

Kimberly Farmer

Popular Goleta science teacher dies as a result of hiking accident in Crete. Her family donates organs to help others.

There's shock and sadness over the death of a popular South Coast science teacher over the holidays.

Clara Thomann was seriously injured in a hiking accident December 23 on Crete, and she later died.

Compounding the tragedy was the fact that the Dos Pueblos High School teacher was pregnant at the time.
The baby was also lost.

She remained on life support until family members could reach the Greek hospital where she was being treated. As per her wishes, some of her key organs were donated to help others.

The school will have counselors on hand to help staff and students cope with the news. Classes resume on Monday (1/6).

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.