Support has poured in from all over for a Santa Clarita Valley family that tragically lost two of its members in a fatal crash in Arizona earlier this month.
Heather Ventura and her son, Lucas Tejada, were two of six people killed July 12 when a Ford F-550 stake-bed truck heading west on Interstate 10 near Quartzsite, Arizona, failed to stop for traffic and slammed into the back of the Chevrolet Traverse they were in, according to Bart Graves, a media relations specialist with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The driver and five occupants of the Chevrolet Traverse also included Karly Perez, a woman described as Ventura’s best friend, and her three children: Olivia, 12; Emalynn, 11; and Giana, 8, according to a KTLA report.
Nick Ventura said his sister and nephew, who like Nick were born and raised in the SCV, were on their way back from a nice long summer road trip when tragedy struck.
Karly Perez and Heather Ventura had been close for years, Nick Ventura said, sharing that they met because their husbands were best friends — and while both were no longer married, their friendship strengthened over the years, and they were always there for each other.
The two friends had just spent two days in an Arizona resort, he said, adding the group of six was like “a family unit.”
“My last photo that I have (of the group) is Karly with her feet in the water at the edge of the pool and the kids all swimming, and my sister was the one taking the photo,” he said.
While Heather Ventura had moved out of the area, she also had a “softball family” in the SCV, Nick Ventura said, from years of playing at local fields, including at Saugus High.
Nick Ventura described his 13-year-old nephew Lucas as a foodie who was an aspiring chef, and described how he would try to emulate the dishes the two would make on his own and then send pictures to his uncle.
An online effort to help the family with all unforeseen end-of-life expenses now facing its members raised nearly $23,000 of its $25,000 goal in short order, with over 250 donations.
Nick Ventura, who also has been involved in a number of local nonprofit organizations, including the Michael Hoefflin Foundation and JCI Santa Clarita, a local group for young professionals, expressed gratitude for all the support he and his father have received in a difficult time.
A celebration of life is being planned for Sept. 1 in Sand Canyon, and Ventura said anyone who would like to attend can email him for more information at [email protected].
A GoFundMe page to support the family has been set up here: bit.ly/3ygSdbp.
