Condolences and bouquets of flowers have flowed into The Vintage Press since word spread that Katy McElhinny -- the restaurant's third employee to die since December -- was killed in a single-car rollover accident Monday. She was 19.

The kind gestures have been appreciated, said restaurant owner Greg Vartanian.

"We have a wonderful staff and they're all helping each other [cope]," he said. "You really realize the inner strengths of people when we're faced with this situation in life."

But that doesn't ease the void felt by employees at the small, family-owned Visalia restaurant.

"God, how does one handle it?" asked Leonard J. Garcia, the restaurant's front desk event coordinator.

In December, restaurant owner Arlene Vartanian, 71, died of cancer. Server Andres Lopez was killed in a two-car crash two days before Christmas. He was 20.

McElhinny's sudden death has left the 40 or so Vintage Press workers numb.

"This just doesn't happen," said Elissa Ruiz, a server and hostess who spent the night before the fatal crash with McElhinny, watching a movie and eating pizza. "This is beyond us. We're still trying to get beyond the first two deaths."

On Monday, McElhinny was "on a date" with her 6-year-old nephew, Chase Bourez, when the fatal accident occurred. They were returning to her Visalia home after visiting McElhinny's sister near Lindsay. She failed to negotiate a curve along a road just south of Farmersville, causing the vehicle to roll over a couple of times and ejecting McElhinny and her nephew, according to California Highway Patrol officials.

Chase, who was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Fresno for treatment of major injuries, is in critical condition, said Dustin McElhinny, Katy's older brother.

McElhinny, a College of the Sequoias student, recently moved into a three-bedroom home with her friend and co-worker, Heather Hoffman.

Hoffman said she was at home Monday, waiting for her friend to come home so they could go to dinner together.

"The light in her room was on," she said. "Her nephew's shoes were on the floor. So I thought they were coming right back."

McElhinny never returned.

Word of the fatal 2:40 p.m. accident spread fast. By about 7 p.m., about 20 to 30 restaurant workers had gathered that night at another local eatery to comfort one another.

"We're just like a family," Garcia said. "We all get along with each other. We argue, but we're all here for each other."

The tears and stories about the trio continue to be shared at the restaurant.

On Tuesday, Garcia recalled Vartanian's small stature but big laugh.

Others remembered Lopez's smile and hard work.

Natasha Benavides smiled, remembering McElhinny's admirers at the restaurant. When McElhinny competed in February's Miss Tulare County pageant and was named first runner-up, some customers went back and forth between the restaurant and competition, snapping photos of the show and sharing them with those who had to work.

Garcia said McElhinny was approachable, often hugging regular customers.

"She was only 19, but she learned from Arlene how to greet her customers when they came in," he said.