Classmates mourn teens lost in crash that killed 4 near Soldier Summit

Orem » To share what Vanessa Estrada meant to them, her classmates at Mount Nebo Junior High plan to write letters and sign a poster for her grieving parents -- and gather donations to help them with the 13-year-old's funeral expenses.

Estrada, of Payson, was one of four teens killed in a car crash early Sunday on Emma Road, about one mile east of U.S. 6 near Helper. Police estimate the Chevrolet Aveo the teens were riding in was traveling at more than 90 mph when it struck a concrete barrier.

Also killed in the crash were driver Jose Flores, 16; Mauro Lopez, 16; and Manuel Gonzalez, 19, all of Orem.

Students at Eastshore High School, an alternative school in Orem,

are devastated by Flores' death and also plan a memorial to honor him, said Rhonda Bromley, a spokeswoman for the Alpine School District.

Kaye Isakson, principal of Mount Nebo Junior High, said Estrada was an outgoing eighth-grader with many friends. "It's been hard," she said.

Counselors were available Monday to talk with students, including a Spanish-speaking counselor from Spanish Fork. .

One of the family's former neighbors, seventh-grader Anthony Butler, said he was stunned when Estrada's death was announced over the school's public announcement system Monday.

"I thought she would be in school," he said. "I've never had a friend die before."

His sister, 10th-grader Katrina Butler, said Estrada

was "fun-loving" and "always perky." She worried about her 10-year-old brother and watched out for all of her younger siblings, added seventh-grader Sabin Wilson, another former neighbor. The family had recently moved out of the apartment where they had been living.

A viewing for Estrada is set for today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Walker Funeral in Payson, 587 S. 100 West. A second viewing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the San Andres Catholic Church, which all four teens attended. Her funeral will follow at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the church, 315 E. 100 North in Payson. Estrada will be buried in Mexico.

Family members of Gonzalez told the Provo Daily Herald the 19-year-old has an 11-month-old son and was celebrating his 19th birthday when the accident occurred. Gonzalez hoped to complete his high school education although he did not graduate from Mountain View High School and enjoyed skateboarding and cooking with his sisters, the Herald reported.

Flores had faced a string of problems in his personal life but was thriving at Eastshore, where he had a reputation as a "charming and friendly" student who dreamed of being an architect, Bromley said.

Eastshore had proved to be a good fit for Flores. His teachers had marveled at the turnaround in his attitude; the school's 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. mode, which emphasizes getting out of the classroom and going out to sites to learn, seemed to be the ticket to motivate Flores, Bromley said.

"He was doing a really good job this year," she said. "He has come with such a good attitude and decided he was going to make it."

She declined to elaborate on the hardships Flores was working to overcome. Several students at Eastshore, including Flores, had been training together to participate in a half-marathon in St. George this fall, she said.

The crash is believed to have occurred between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday. The teens weren't found until about 7:30 a.m., when a passer-by spotted the car.

The momentum had launched the car into the air and it had rolled once, landing on the passenger side. Three of the four teens died instantly of internal injuries. Flores, the driver, crawled out of the car, stumbled down a small ravine and back up before he died, said Utah County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon.

The three boys were wearing seat belts, police said, and there was no evidence at the scene that Flores was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Toxicology reports are pending, Cannon said Monday.

The teens' families have declined requests to speak with the news media, he added.