APOPKA, Fla. — The Apopka community is mourning the deaths of three students after a horrifying traffic crash over the weekend.
It happened early Sunday around 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of Welch road and Wekiwa Drive in Apopka.
Monday night, more than a hundred people showed up to honor the boys.
They gathered near the crash site, bringing balloons, candles, and pictures of the three boys, laying them around the tree where they crashed.
It was a very somber moment. Pieces of the vehicle could still be seen scattered across the grass.
The mothers of at least two of the teens involved in the crash were present Monday night -- grieving the losses of their sons.
Dozens consoled the women.
State troopers said Julio Lopez, 17, along with 17-year-old Enrique Rodriguez Sabas and 13-year-old Leyner Velasquez were among the 6 people in a 2020 Chevy Silverado.
Troopers say the driver lost control on a curve and struck a tree.
Lopez’s ’ mom said the teens were driving back from a quinceañera.
Friends and family Monday night remembered Lopez as a person full of life who loved making friends and playing guitar.
A friend remembered Sabas as someone who would light up a room. “You can see his smile, feel his smile from a mile away, from a block away. He was very, very loving and caring as well,” said July Jaimes.
13-year-old Velasquez was only in middle school. He often talked to his friends about going home to see family in Guatemala.
The families have all set up GoFundMe accounts to help pay for funeral expenses: Enrique Rodriguez Sabas, Julio Lopez, and Leyner Velasquez.
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