Española community honors 4 teens killed in head-on crash

Española community honors 4 teens killed in head-on crash

For the parents of Isaiah Gonzales, Guillermo Terrazas, Toure Tsosie, and Sean Montoya – it's an unimaginable loss.

ESPAÑOLA, N.M. – Northern New Mexicans came together to honor the lives of four teens killed this past week in a head on crash on Highway 84 just north of Española.  

For the parents of Isaiah Gonzales, Guillermo Terrazas, Toure Tsosie, and Sean Montoya – it’s an unimaginable loss.

“The officer showed up around maybe 4 in the morning to let me know, but it wasn’t confirmation until like 10 a.m. that morning that it was possibly those four teens,” said Victoria Rivera, mother of Toure Tsosie.

“Yeah, it was a very unbelievable morning, that’s all I can really say,” said Sandi Montoya, mother of Sean Montoya.

A loss they are learning to navigate with the support of the community.

“It felt good to see, you know, all these little young faces and to know how much they appreciated my son just as much as we did. It just felt really good,” said Sandi. 

Sandi says her son’s smile could light up a room, and she will always miss the way he cared for others. But the stories from his friends bring her comfort. 

“He was almost about 6 foot, and he was just like a big teddy bear, everyone could talk to him,” Sandi said. “All of the things we are hearing they are all things we think as parents, but kids are bringing a lot of other stuff up to us that let me know my son cared, you know he was a caregiver.” 

Each of the four families have GoFundMe accounts to help with expenses. 

“We appreciate everything that everybody has done for us, from the cooking, feeding, to the donations to the prayers to the thoughts, everything,” said Sandi. 

New Mexico State Police say they are still investigating the crash and what led up to the fatal head-on collision. 

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