A community in Rancho Cucamonga is in mourning following the deaths of two teenagers who were killed in a car crash on Friday.
Dozens of candles, flowers and balloons with loving messages on them were placed at the site of the crash where 17-year-old Elias and 14-year-old Sarah Cruz were killed. The siblings were traveling by car on Friday when Elias lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pole and then a tree near the intersection of Wilson and Haven Avenues.
Elias and Sarah were killed in the crash and a third teenager in the car was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“Sarah and Elias were such good people and they made people so happy,” one young teenager said at the vigil.
School classmates, teammates and neighbors comforted one another and embraced each other in tears as they grieved the loss of the Cruz teenagers.
“Sarah on our team was very loving and giving, and I say, ‘hug like Sarah.’ She was a love,” said Cherie Martin, Sarah’s softball coach.
The siblings were both student-athletes at Los Osos High School. Elias was a baseball player and Sarah was on the softball and volleyball teams.
Rey Cruz, the father of the victims, shared who his children were.
“He’s a very giving, affectionate, outgoing person,” Rey said of his son. “He was soft-spoken.”
“She was very outgoing, very vocal, outspoken and loved people,” he said of his daughter.
Through his pain, the father wanted to share a message with his community.
“I talked about regardless if they are teenagers – parents, you have to make sure every morning when you leave for school or work, you tell them you love them,” Rey Cruz said. “At night, you tell them you love them. Tomorrow is not promised for anybody.”