'This is a nightmare': Pastor mourns loss of two central Iowa teens killed in car crash near Perry

Pastor David Sixtos-Villa remembers getting a video call Sunday night from Walter Gavidia in which the 13-year-old begged him to come out to play basketball with him and his friends. They joked around on the phone for a while, Sixtos-Villa said, but ultimately he decided not to go.

"I love you buddy," he said while hanging up the phone. "Remember God loves you."

Those were the last words Sixtos-Villa ever said to Gavidia.

The young boy and his 15-year-old sister Daisy Gavidia died in a car crash Thursday morning near Perry after the car slipped on a snow-covered highway road and hit a box truck traveling in the opposite direction. Their older sister and the driver of the car, Edlyn Gavidia, 17, remained in the hospital in critical condition as of Thursday night.

Authorities believe the crash may have occurred due to weather.

"The road was completely covered with snow and slush — that thick, heavy snow. And it was snowing at the time of the crash and we believe that was a contributing factor," said Dallas County sheriff Adam Infante.

Sixtos-Villa said he got a call from Jesse Fuentes, the children's mother, Thursday morning as he stood in the terminal at the Des Moines International Airport preparing to board a flight to Mexico. As soon as he heard the news, he said he canceled his trip, asked the gate agent to help him find his luggage and he raced over to the hospital.

"We live in a world where a lot of times we just don't know when it's the last time you'll hear their voice or see them," Sixtos-Villa said Thursday night, standing by Fuentes's side, sharing in her shock and grief.

Sixtos-Villa said the Gavidia children were staples of the church community. Walter Gavidia led the youth services and showed real promise as a drummer, he said. Daisy Gavidia loved singing with her sister, whose voice Sixtos-Villa said sounds like it has been "blessed by God."

"We don't understand what's going on. I feel like this is a nightmare. What am I going to do when I preach and they're not going to be…" the 38-year-old pastor paused. "By the way, they sit in the front pew. The first person that I see when I preach is Edlyn, and then Daisy and then Walter... .They're always there consistently," he said.

The Gavidia family drove an hour each way from their home in Jamaica to come to the Church of God Pentecostal I.M. Potters House, a 75-member Spanish congregation based in Des Moines, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, Sixtos-Villa said. Without them there − emanating positivity, sharing their musical talents with the community or reminding the pastor to bring extra candy and snacks for the youth classes − Sixtos-Villa said he doesn't know how he can move forward.

But while grappling with his own loss, Sixtos-Villa said he must also stand strong for Fuentes and the children's father Walter Gavidia, whose lives are now forever changed by the loss of their two children and the potential loss of their third.

"Now you have even a greater motive to live for," Sixtos-Villa said he told Fuentes. "What they were not able to accomplish, you accomplish it for them. Make them proud. They are always going to be with you."

Sixtos-Villa said there is also hope. Early Thursday evening, the hospital informed the family that Edlyn Gavidia, who is fighting for her life after suffering injuries to her head and lungs, opened her eyes.

"We're all just waiting for her to get a breakthrough," he said.

Sixtos-Villa said right now the family is left with "more questions than answers." They don't know exactly what caused the crash on Thursday morning. They don't know whether Edlyn Gavidia will survive, and if so, what long-term obstacles she may have to overcome. But Sixtos-Villa does know that no matter what happens next, the church community will be there to support the surviving family and remember the young lives lost.

The church is helping to organize a vigil at Perry High School on Saturday at 7 p.m. The church will also be hosting a celebration of life service on Sunday at their sanctuary in Des Moines.

The Perry High School and Middle School, where the Gavidia children were enrolled, is providing counselors to students in the school's library starting Friday at 10 a.m., according to the school's Facebook page. A community member also started a GoFundMe page to help the family pay for funeral and medical expenses.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Two teens killed in Thursday crash remembered by pastor, community