Families mourn after crash north of Española kills four teens
ESPAÑOLA, N.M. – Four families are mourning the loss of their children after four teens died in a crash just north of Española early Saturday morning.
New Mexico State Police said they were called to a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 86 near mile marker 202 around 3 a.m. Saturday.
A 2000 Jeep Cherokee with two teens and a 2019 GMC truck with two other teens caught fire once they crashed.
“The officer showed up around maybe 4 in the morning to let me know, but it wasn’t confirmed until like 10 a.m. that morning that it was possibly those four teens,” said Victoria Rivera, the mother of one of the teens.
The office of the Medical Investigator later identified the four teens as Isaiah Gonzales, Guillermo Terrazas, Sean Montoya, and Toure Tsosie.
“I’ve lost like family members you know sisters, brothers, but a child is a very different kind of loss. I lived for my son, everything I did was around my son,” said Rivera who is the mother of Tsosie.
The parents of Tsosie said he was ambitious. He just got his certificate for welding and wanted to further his schooling in Denver. He also wanted to start a clothing company.
“His energy…his love, affection, his companionship. His companionship was a unique companionship and the compassion that he had for people,” said Jerome Tsosie.
However, it was his love of nature and sense of adventure that they will miss most about their son.
“He was in the midst of discovering himself just like every other teenager from skateboarding to fishing, he did numerous things. He started off with fishing, going off the mountain a lot, rafting,” said Jerome.
The community will be hosting a vigil for the four teens on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Plaza in Española.
Each of the four families also have GoFundMe accounts set up and with a difficult path forward, they hope to continue to heal as a family and as a community.
“The way he would love for us to pull through and continue how we were doing it from the beginning, that is together,” said Jerome.
GoFundMe Links: