- Two teens, Laulea Fiefia and Xylie Hutchinson, died in a Cache County crash.
- Fiefia, remembered for his big personality, supported his disabled mother.
- Hutchinson, passionate about hockey, was honored by friends with doorstep hockey sticks.
HYRUM — A Cache Valley community is grieving after a car crash claimed the life of two teens Saturday night.
Both 17-year-old Laulea "CJ" Fiefia and 14-year-old Xylie Hutchinson are being remembered by family and community members.
Troopers said five people were inside a Toyota Corolla driving in Providence when the driver lost control, crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a minivan. Three people in the Corolla were ejected. Hutchinson was flown to a hospital, where she later died.
Throughout the day Monday, people visited a makeshift memorial for the two teens who lost their lives. It was originally set up alongside the road where the crash happened, but the Cache County Sheriff's Office later moved it to a nearby property owned by Blackstone so people could visit it without traffic posing a safety risk.
Near the memorial Monday evening, Vil Matangi remembered Fiefia, who was his cousin.
"He had such a big personality," Matangi said. "He was always smiling."
Fiefia leaves behind two siblings and his mother, who is disabled, according to Matangi.
"Because of that, she can't work," Matangi said, "so Laulea actually — on top of school, sports, all the extracurricular stuff — he was working and helping to support them."
Shelby Lofton, KSL-TVMatangi said even though Fiefia was his cousin, he acted more like a father figure to him, especially as the teen went into high school. Fiefia was a junior at Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum. He loved football, Matangi said, and wanted to serve a church mission.
"He's very energetic, but quiet about his struggles. He had a lot of weight on his shoulders that he carried, and he just kept it to himself, but on the outside he was a very outgoing person, and that's why everybody loved him," Matangi said, tearfully. "He'll definitely be missed."
Family members described Hutchinson as energetic and bubbly, with a passion for hockey.
"She's played hockey for the last five years and even tried out for accelerated teams," said Logan Monson, a Utah state representative and cousin of Hutchinson's mother. "Her mom was her best friend. Her dad, she has two sisters and a brother."
Monson said teammates and even competitors visited the hospital to say goodbye.
"She loved her hockey team," he said. "It would have been evident just seeing the hockey teams in to visit her family today."
Across Cache Valley, friends are honoring Hutchinson by placing hockey sticks on their doorsteps.
"She had a way of making people feel like they mattered," Monson said. "That's what we need more of."
Fiefia and Hutchinson were killed, while three others were hurt.
According to the Highway Patrol, none of the Corolla's occupants was wearing a seat belt.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
A *GoFundMe has been set up to help Fiefia's family as they move ahead with funeral plans. Other accounts have been set up for Xylie Hutchinson and two other teens who were injured in the crash.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited into the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
