MILLCREEK — Family and friends were mourning the death of a 17-year-old girl Wednesday while her boyfriend insists he didn't deliberately run over her.

Micaela Klalie Sigala was ambitious and kind-hearted, family members remembered Wednesday. The teenager died Tuesday night when police say her boyfriend, also 17, backed over her after an argument.

"Everybody is kind of in shock. Micaela is the one who was really going somewhere," said Tiffani Chacon, Micaela's aunt. "She had her whole life planned out. She was only 17."

The two teens, who had been dating for more than two years, were breaking up, Chacon said. Family members believe any evidence of problems in the relationship will likely be found on Micaela's phone, which investigators are reviewing.

"She loved him, but she just knew they weren't going anywhere and it was a bad thing," Chacon said. "We think she broke up with him and he couldn't handle it. We're assuming it was, 'If I can't have you nobody can.'"

Unified police were working to determine whether the boy hit Micaela intentionally. The boy, whose name was not released, is cooperating with investigators and is not being held in custody.

There were no witnesses to the accident.

Driver apologizes

The teen appears to apologize for the crash on his Facebook page. In a note posted Tuesday night, he insisted that Micaela's death was an accident. His profile picture shows the young couple, their faces pressed together, with Micaela closing her eyes and smiling.

"I'm very sorry for the accident I caused today. I know you guys hate me and want me dead and oh don't worry, I'll be gone. I can't live without her. To Micaela's family: I did not kill her. I tried to leave the fight and I didn't see her behind the truck. I wish you guys would understand this was a terrible, terrible accident. I'm not a murder(er) or a killer. This was a (tragic) accident," the post says.

Micaela's family disagrees.

Related:

17-year-old dead after auto-pedestrian incident

A 17-year-old girl was killed Tuesday when her teenage boyfriend ran over her with an SUV, police said.

"I think that's a lie," Chacon said of the Facebook message.

Chacon walked through the yard of the home 416 E. 3900 South, on Wednesday, pointing out where the boy's tires had torn up the yard as he drove.

"He was originally parked on the side of the house, and based on the tire marks you can see he drove over here, went right there, and backed up and hit her," Chacon said. "When he hit her, he left his vehicle on top of her. He didn't even try to move it off of her. He just left it there to be sure she died."

The boy called 911. Micaela's younger siblings and mother were inside the house at the time, not realizing something had happened until the ambulance arrived.

Family trying to forgive

While Micaela's family believes the teen hit Micaela intentionally and should be prosecuted, they are also trying to forgive him, Chacon said.

"In the heat of the moment, everybody gets angry and everybody makes mistakes," she said. "As a family, we understand that. We're all grieving and we understand he is grieving, too. He has to live with what he did."

Older sister Tysha Cook said Micaela was a diligent student who had earned scholarships and was preparing to graduate from Cottonwood High School and go to college. She wanted to be a dentist.

"We're just trying to stick together as a family," Cook said. "I'm angry, I'm hurt. I just don't know why he did it. … She cared for him so much, and this happened. I don't know why."

Cook and Alexis Valdez, another sister of Micaela, agree that they want to see the teenage boy receive counseling.

"We lost our sister because of domestic violence. We just want him to get help so that this doesn't happen again," Valdez said.

Family members have set up a fundraising account for Micaela's funeral expenses at www.gofundme.com/micaela-sigala.

"We're trying to raise some money so that we can get her a proper burial ground, so that she is able to be laid to rest like she needs to be," Cook said.

At a candlelight vigil held Wednesday night for Micaela, dozens of friends and family met in her backyard to console each other, listen to the teen’s favorite songs, release balloons into the air and share memories of her life.

“For everybody to come together and share memories of her … it just lets us know that we’re not alone,” Chacon said.

Despite the pop music in the background, the vigil was subdued and well-wishers spoke in quiet tones. One of Micaela’s eight siblings wept as they embraced Chacon.

“I think at this point we’re all pretty numb,” Chacon said. “Numb is a good (way) to describe it.”

Ashley Curtis met Micaela in junior high and the two girls were best friends. Curtis was distraught at the vigil as she described Micaela as a person who lifted the spirits of others around her.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS WERE MOURNING THE DEATH OF MICAELA KLALIE SIGALA, 17, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015, WHILE HER BOYFRIEND INSISTS HE DIDN'T DELIBERATELY RUN OVER HER THE DAY BEFORE. (PHOTO: STEVEN BREINHOLT, KSL-TV)

“She was an amazing person,” she said. “If she was unhappy, she wouldn’t let you know it.”

Curtis attended the vigil to keep Micaela’s memory alive, she said.

“I just want everyone to remember her. She left us too soon,” Curtis said.

Curtis said Tuesday’s crash was the culmination of an unhealthy relationship with her boyfriend.

“He was always controlling,” Curtis said. “(Micaela) had to be on the phone with him all the time … or he’d be mad.”

Chacon said she wanted the vigil to increase public awareness of the problem of domestic violence and that it can be an issue even among teenagers.

“You need to be nosy about it,” Chacon said, speaking of parents with teenagers in relationships. “You need to stick your head out. You need to observe from afar even if they don’t want you to.”

Contributing: Ben Lockhart

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