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Friends of a San Francisco family whose drive home from a Mexican vacation ended in a tragic accident -- killing five -- are flying to Arizona to comfort the survivors and to Mexico to arrange for the dead to be brought home for burial.

"It's a huge loss to our community," David Ghirarduzzi, a friend and fellow member of the San Francisco Church of Christ, said of the crash Sunday that killed Rodrigo Huazano Sr., 53, a longtime resident of the Bayview district, and his son, son-in-law and two grandchildren. The accident, which occurred in the Mexican state of Sonora when the family's Chevrolet Suburban rolled over, also injured four family members, who are hospitalized in Arizona.

Ghirarduzzi spent Tuesday shuttling between the Mexican town of Magdalena, where the accident took place, and University Medical Center in Tucson, where the survivors are being treated.

He said the five bodies would be flown back to San Francisco today. Funeral services are planned for Saturday.

But his biggest concerns were for the physical and emotional well-being of the living: Huazano's daughter Ireri Huazano Rangel, 31, who is a postal clerk in San Francisco; her two stepsons, Ubaldo Jr. and Hector Rangel, 15 and 13, respectively; and her 2-year-old son, Ubaldo Rangel III.

Ubaldo Jr. suffered a broken neck, while the toddler had severe head injuries and underwent surgery Tuesday to remove several blood clots from his head, Ghirarduzzi said.

"Hector is in shock," he added. "He was just reunited with his father this year and moved up from Los Angeles to live with him. Now, he loses him."

As for Huazano Rangel, who was driving when the accident occurred, "she is grieving, in disbelief after losing her father, her brother, her husband and two of her kids," said Ghirarduzzi. "We have grief counselors (and family members) with her right now."

In San Francisco, friends and fellow parishioners gathered together in grief.

"They were enormously hospitable people," said Christian Burruel, another member of the family's church, who remembered the fabulous Mexican food, music and dancing at Huazano parties and the spirit of generosity it embodied.

"Rodrigo Sr. was always one to invite people," he said. "If they were needing shelter, he'd put them up for a while and try to help them find a job. And he was a great singer. I'll miss that about him."

Richard Hua, pastor of the San Francisco Church of Christ, where the family worshiped, said the community was hoping to raise enough money to cover the costs of burying the dead.

"They've got quite a challenge ahead of them financially," he said, "bringing all the bodies back and holding a funeral for five people simultaneously."

Friends and relatives of the family cast doubt on the official version of the accident described by Mexican authorities, who said the driver had dozed off.

"Ireri said a bus passed her and sideswiped her," said Ghirarduzzi, who spoke with Huazano Rangel the day after the accident. "It sent her to the right side, she tried to recover... then the front left tire blew out, and that's when the Suburban started flipping."

Officials with Mexico's federal highway police, who investigated the crash, deny a bus was involved.

"No other vehicle exists. That's just talk," said Julio Madrigal, first sergeant with the federal police in Magdalena. "Besides, the driver made a declaration to us that she fell asleep."

Whatever the cause of the accident, Ghirarduzzi said, it appeared a seat belt saved Huazano Rangel, and a car seat protected her 2-year-old. Those who died were thrown from the car and were probably not buckled up, he said.

The memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Mission High School.

Donations to help the family defray funeral expenses can be made out to the Huazano and Rangel Family Memorial Fund. They can be deposited at any Bank of America (Acct. No. 12097-11292) or mailed to: Huazano and Rangel Family Memorial Fund, 3325 Judah St., San Francisco, CA 94122

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Nine members of the Huazano and Rangel families were rushing home to San Francisco after a visit with relatives in Mexico so their children could be back for the first day of school Monday.

The longtime Bayview district residents never made it. At about 7 o'clock Sunday morning, the family's Chevrolet Suburban ran off the road near the town of Magdalena in the Mexican state of Sonora, just an hour south of the Arizona border, according to officials there.

Ireri Huazano Rangel, 31, apparently had been driving all night and fell asleep at the wheel, said Jorge Urrea, an official with the Mexican federal highway police in Magdalena. She survived the crash, but five other relatives did not. Neither Huazano Rangel nor any of the passengers appeared to be wearing seatbelts, he said.

"It is a pain that can't be put into words," said Ruben Rangel, the brother of Huazano Rangel's husband, Ubaldo, who died in the crash. "Ubaldo was one of the most beautiful people in the world. He worked a lot in his church and always tried to help everybody."

Rangel said the family had spent about three weeks in the town of Tarimbaro, in the state of Michoacan, visiting with family members, including his ailing mother.

"My mother suffered a heart attack and she was at death's door, so Ubaldo went to see her," he said. "Now she's on her way to identify his body at the mortuary in Magdalena."

In addition to Ubaldo Rangel, 35, those killed were Ireri Huazano Rangel's father, Rodrigo Huazano Sr., 53; her brother Andrew Huazano, 17; her daughter Amelia Rangel, 11; and her son Luis Alberto Rangel, 8, according to family members and Mexican officials.

The close-knit family had lived for more than two decades in the Bayview district, where Rodrigo Huazano Sr. and his wife, Amelia, ran a taco truck and raised their four children.

Huazano Sr. was known in the neighborhood as a jack-of-all-trades who helped neighbors retile their bathrooms and fix their roofs and cars.

"He's a very good neighbor," said Arturo Jaochico, 54. "He's very helpful. "

In recent years the couple had given up the grueling hours of food preparation and opened a family day-care center in their home on Thornton Avenue, neighbors said.

"They were hardworking people, very family oriented," said next-door neighbor Jerry Hayden. "It's quite a sad story. You expect to see these kids grow up."

Hayden, a carpenter, said Ubaldo Rangel was a fellow member of his union, Carpenters Union Local 22. He added that as a youngster, Andrew used to play with his own son, who was close in age, and the two boys would do their math homework together at his house.

Andrew was to enter 11th grade at Mission High School, where he played varsity baseball and football and had dreams of going to college.

Principal Kevin Truitt told teachers and the football team about Andrew's death at the end of the day Monday. The rest of the student body was to hear the news in their first-period classes today.

Andrew was described by teachers and students at Mission High as a gentle giant -- a big kid with an even bigger smile who never quit. "He'd be the most tired of everyone, but somehow he'd be able to smile," said Oscar Stingily, a fellow football player. "Some people need to be reminded that this is really fun, and Drew would always be the one to do that."

Football player Tim Feerick's voice shook as he spoke of the unexpected loss of his friend.

"For something like this to happen, it's terrible," he said. "It's like losing a family member."

Luis Alberto and Amelia Rangel were students at Rooftop Elementary School and attended a summer program at the Glen Park Recreation Center, neighbors said.

The children's 2-year-old brother and teenage half-brothers survived the accident but were hospitalized in Tucson, along with their mother, said Ruben Rangel.

"Ireri is physically OK, but emotionally she's in a terrible state. She's very distraught," said Rangel. He said two of the surviving children were seriously injured in the accident.

Other family members from San Francisco rushed to Arizona to be with the survivors, neighbors said. Funeral arrangements are pending.