'None of us got to say goodbye': Community mourns Ray High School seniors after car crash

As the Ray High School seniors filed into the American Bank Center Friday afternoon clad in red graduation robes, two seats remained empty.

Marked by white bows, the seats belonged to two seniors who would not be coming, Matthew Garcia and Marcello Saldua.

Garcia and Saldua, both 18, died in a rollover crash after leaving graduation practice Tuesday at the American Bank Center.

They were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash just before 11:30 a.m., and two other students were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The crash is still under investigation, but speed and street racing are believed to have been factors.

More: Ray High School students killed in rollover crash identified

At the graduation they were meant to attend, classmates and their families applauded loudly for the two boys when Ray High School Principal Roxanne Cuevas read their names and offered condolences.

The day before the graduation, many in the crowd spent Thursday evening in Heritage Park at a candlelight prayer vigil called by Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo.

As a crescent moon rose, friends, family and classmates of the two boys gathered in the park. Some came carrying candles and flowers. As people trickled in, they pinned red ribbons to their clothes, the color chosen to reflect Ray High School.

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Tears flowed and hugs were exchanged freely over the course of the evening, as the crowd heard from city and school officials.

"There are no words that feel adequate to express our community's sorrow over the loss of two of our city's young adults days before their high school graduation," Guajardo said. "We are deeply sorry for the loss of these two young men. I am completely broken-hearted."

Cuevas shared a school motto during the vigil.

"We have a saying at our school," Cuevas said. "'True to Ray we'll always be.' Part of being true means to be true to Ray and come together during tough times and during celebrations — tough times such as tonight, when we gather to grieve the loss of Matthew and Marcello."

In addition to music by vocalist Sarah Garcia, faith leaders including Rev. Pete Elizardo of Corpus Christi Cathedral spoke.

"The haunting questions that go through our mind are 'How?' and 'Why?'" Elizardo said. "My dear families and classmates and friends and community, no one can answer those questions and I would hope no one would try because they would fall short of truth."

Elizardo said the community will always be with the families of Garcia and Saldua.

"When we come together to remember the beauty of these lives, I know what the limited mind wants to do," Elizardo said. "It wants to make us only think of how our brothers have died. My dear family, I ask you right now. My dear friends of Marcello and Matthew, I ask this of you right now and all of us. Don't do that. Don't limit their life to only how they died."

Elizardo asked the crowd to remember moments of joy and laughter.

After the remarks concluded, those in the front of the crowd lit their candles, turning to share their flames and light the candles of those behind them. The flickering lights spread through the park.

After a final prayer, the crowd began to trickle out, but many stayed, somber in the fading light for another hour. Ruben Flores, 18, made his way through the lingering crowd carrying a bundle of silver balloons. Mourners stopped to write messages onto the balloons.

"It's our last words," Flores said. "It's our last time to say anything. None of us got to say goodbye."

Flores said he was good friends with both boys, calling them his "brothers," and he was also Garcia's cousin.

As the last few people added their messages to the balloons, the crowd grew quiet. Flores distributed the balloons to individuals, who quickly released the balloons, watching as they floated into the sky.

In the days since the crash, friends and family have reflected on Garcia and Saldua.

For Garcia, a high school diploma was more than a piece of paper, his aunt Maribel Duran said. As the oldest of four, he would have been the first in his family to graduate.

“He wanted to make his family proud that he was going to do something with himself,” Duran said. “He wanted to show his brother and sisters that he was going to finish school when a lot of kids don’t do it or have kids already. His brother and sisters looked up to him.”

A “teddy bear” with a calm voice, Garcia read the Bible to his blind grandfather and protected his disabled cousin who was sometimes bullied, she said.

“He was very humble, caring, loving, unselfish,” Duran said. “He went out of his way to take care of everybody.”

He loved football and played throughout his time at Cunningham Middle School. In high school, he got a job to help take care of his family and to help pay his  prom costs.

“He didn’t want to burden the family,” Duran said. “He wanted his prom to go perfect, and he wanted his parents not to worry.”

Remembered as a hard worker by his friends, Saldua hoped to one day take care of his mom.

“He was so excited,” friend Jeremiah Curiel, 18, said. “He told me the night before he passed how happy he was and how ready he was to start life. I told him I was proud of him.”

Curiel, a West Oso High School student, met Saldua in elementary school. Saldua transferred to Ray High School during his freshman year. He remembered Saldua as a Dallas Cowboys fan who always had smile on his face.

“His laugh was very brightening and it’s something I’m going to miss the most about him,” Curiel said. “He was always happy, he always celebrated our accomplishments, he was never the jealous or hater type, he always wanted to see his friends succeed ... but what we loved most about him was that he was caring and is someone who you can count on to be there for you no matter what.”

Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times. 

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Ray High School community mourns Matthew Garcia and Marcello Saldua