SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A tribute will be held for a group of teens whose lives were cut short because of a man police have called a reckless driver.
On Tuesday evening, family and friends of the victims were seen at the Hammocks Community Park as a memorial was placed in their honor.
The gathering is set to take place within the next hour. Many brought flowers and balloons to place the memorial and pay their respects.
Nineteen-year-old Briana Pacalagua, 21-year-old Valeria Caceres, 21-year-old Daniela Marcano, 17-year-old Valeria Peña and 18 year-old Giancarlo Arias were the five young adults who were tragically killed in a wrong-way crash over the weekend.
The fatal wreck happened near the entrance ramp at Northwest 57th Avenue, at around 4:30 a.m., Saturday.
The group was driving home after a night out celebrating Giancarlo receiving a college scholarship in New York.
He was supposed to leave in just a few days.
“I feel so much pain,” said Alvaro Peña, father of Valeria.
He said his daughter was full of love. He also told 7News the senior at Ferguson High School loved to learn and was planning on studying business in college next year.
“Briana was a bright young girl,” said her uncle Adalver Avila. “She was full of joy and full of dreams.”
He told 7News the entire family is heartbroken, but they feel heartened the amount of people who loved Briana and came out to support them.
“Definitely shows the amount of love that there is, even though we live in a hard and difficult world. It shows that there is still hope,” he said.
“They were so young and had so much to live,” said Valeria Gonzalez, a friend of the victims.
The man police said is responsible for the crash is 30-year-old Maiky Simeon.
He was said to have been traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes in a silver Infiniti sedan when he collided head-on with the Honda the victims were riding in.
He has since been charged with five counts vehicular homicide.
The five families of the victims have been left heartbroken, missing their loved ones but are remembering the legacy they leave behind.
“I’m just very sad for everything that happened,” said Maria Camacaro, who went to school with the victims. “I’m feeling horrible.”
“Unfortunately, the person behind the wheel caused a lot of damage, and we’re going to let the law take care of that,” said Avila.
The families of the victims are now planning funeral services for later this week.
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