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WEBER COUNTY -- A deadly car crash in Weber County claimed the lives of five young people over the weekend. Now family members of those killed are trying to cope with their loss.
The accident happened Saturday morning. All five of those killed were in a car that veered into the path of a pickup truck as its driver, 19-year-old T.J. Arguello, tried to pass another vehicle in a no-pass zone on State Route 39.
We're all feeling the same thing because we're all going through the same thing together. It's just hard because it's five kids.
–Serena Arguello, mother of driver killed
T.J. Arguello's mother, Serena, is now trying to understand what happened.
"I didn't want to believe it, and I just thought it couldn't be true. I still don't want to believe it," Serena Arguello said Monday.
She said her son always looked out for others, and she can't comprehend what he may have been thinking that morning.
"I don't think he really intentionally meant to hurt any of those kids in the car," she said.
The group was heading back from a camping trip but had planned to return to the campground. Investigators say the car was hit by an F-350 pickup truck after it moved into oncoming traffic on a blind corner. The three occupants of the pickup were treated for minor injuries.
Also killed in the crash were 16-year-old Fealina Espinoza, 18-year-old Karlee Jack, 19-year-old Vanessa Martinez-Reyez and 22-year-old Todd Salazar.
Serena Arguello said the families of those killed are leaning on each other for support as they try to cope with the tragedy.
"We're all feeling the same thing because we're all going through the same thing together," she said. "It's just hard because it's five kids."
T.J. Arguello had just graduated from Washington High School. His mom said he was a good kid with high hopes for the future.
"He wanted to build houses, be an engineer. He liked to take a part remote control cars and rig them up so they would work," Serena Arguello said.
She also said he was a shy young man, at least with people he didn't know, and he loved being with his brothers. She said he would often come home and wrestle with them.
"He'd put them both in headlocks and say, 'Who's your daddy?'" Serena Arguello said.
One of T.J. Arguello's younger brothers was in the car traveling directly behind him when the crash happened.
Neighbors are trying to raise money for the Arguellos, who have no money for funeral expenses. They've planned a fundraising dinner from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, June 28, at the St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Ogden.
Friends also plan to hold a couple of fundraising car washes before Friday's funeral. They're scheduled for Tuesday, June 29, and Wednesday, June 30, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 3111 Wall Ave. in Ogden.
Monday night, friends will gather once again at Monroe Park for a candlelight vigil to pray for the victims and their families.
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Story compiled with contributions from Marc Giauque and Anne Forester.
