Mourners gathered at a vigil at a Moreno Valley high school Wednesday night to remember three teenagers who lost their lives in a car crash over the weekend.
Devin Thomas and Aldo Acosta, both 19, and Nicole Hache and Kiara Quilo, both 16, were riding in a car that crashed into a freeway column at the 405-105 interchange Saturday morning.
Thomas was the lone survivor. He's recovering from injuries including broken bones.
"Devin doesn't even know he's lost his friends yet," said his uncle, Damien Smith. "We are still trying to brace ourselves to break that news to him."
Investigators say speed may have been a factor. Smith believes they had taken a trip to the beach.
Acosta, who was behind the wheel, and Thomas both graduated from Valley View High School in 2015. Students remember Acosta as a friendly guy everyone wanted to hang around with.
"He always has a smile on his face, he was very funny," said Melanie Reitan, a student at Valley View.
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Quilo attended Bayside Community Day School. Hache, who was entering her senior year at Valley View High, had dreams of going to college. Her Spanish teacher, Marissa Zarate, says she even attended summer school to boost her grades.
Zarate described Hache as "a great student," who "succeeded at anything she would have wanted to."
Mourners arrived to Valley View High with flowers to remember three lives lost.
"My emotions are mixed because I'm very happy my nephew made it, but I'm very hurt that the other three didn't make it," Smith said. "Hug and kiss your children because you don't know what the next moment holds."
