Loved ones gather at vigil to mourn teens killed in Sacramento County crash
.JPG "Mourners of Ariyonna Orozco, 16, and Piper Conkling, 14, who died in the fiery crash near Rancho Murieta, attend a candlelight vigil at North Laguna Creek Park in Sacramento on Friday.")
At a quiet soccer field Friday evening in south Sacramento, the family and friends of the two girls killed in the deadly Sunday morning crash near Rancho Murieta gathered to mourn the teenagers.
Ariyonna Orozco and Piper Conkling were out for a late-night drive with three friends on Scott Road when their car crossed into the southbound lane, collided with a tree just north of Latrobe Road and burst into flames. Orozco, 16, was driving and Conkling, 14, was sitting in the passenger seat.
Both teens were pronounced dead at the scene. Three more passengers — two boys and a girl, each of whom attend Elk Grove Unified schools — suffered serious injuries in the crash. Their conditions were unknown.
Almost a week after the deadly crash, over 200 family, friends, and community members joined together to mourn Orozco and Conkling at on the soccer fields of North Laguna Creek Park at a vigil organized by Samantha Lin, a close family friend of Orozco’s.
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Mourners stood shoulder-to-shoulder, some clutching electric candles and others embracing, as they watched a video montage projected onto an inflatable screen. The half-hour compilation, curated by Lin, stitched together photos and home videos of the girls submitted by loved ones as music softly played in the background.
Onlookers sobbed and smiled as the memorial played, and passed each other packets of tissues. Save for the occasional burst of laughter at moments in the video, the group remained silent.
“This is a huge turnout, thank you,” Lin said after the video finished playing. Food and drinks were arranged for attendees to grab as the video played.
The families of Ari and Piper chose not to speak at the event.
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The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office formally identified the girls but details of the crash investigation have yet to be released by the California Highway Patrol, though alcohol and speeding were believed to be contributing factors. Toxicology reports, expected to be performed with autopsies, were not expected to known for several weeks.
According to Lin, Orozco’s family was unaware the girls were out “driving around like that.” As of Tuesday, the family had not received information about the circumstances of the crash, Lin said before the vigil.
Social media was flooded with messages of mourning and remembrance in the wake of the crash.
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Students at Pleasant Grove High School — which Orozco previously attended before transferring to River Valley High School in Yuba County, and where Conkling was a student — gathered at the school’s entrance Monday to leave flowers for the teenagers. A similar memorial was arranged at the crash site on Scott Road near Rancho Murieta, along with one beside the screen at Friday’s vigil.
Close-up images of the memorials showed photo collages of the girls, bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals left by mourners.
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