A prayer vigil and balloon release for three Hardin County teens killed in a weekend wreck has been planned for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Praise Church, 8325 Walker Road in Beaumont.
Funeral services for Caringtin Mosley, of Batson, will be Thursday at First Baptist Church of Batson with burial following at Guedry Cemetery.
Services for Alix Neel, of Batson, will be Friday at First Baptist Church in Sour Lake with burial following at Pine Ridge Cemetery.
Services for Garrett Saulters, of Votaw, will be Friday at Cochran Funeral Home in Livingston, with interment following at Blue Water Cemetery in Livingston.
"He was our baby, the joy of our life, my everything," said Michelle Willis, the mother of Saulters, who died in the Sunday evening wreck.
The three 18-year-olds were in a Chrysler 200 driven by Mosley that crashed into a van on FM 787 near Saratoga at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday, according to the Department of Public Safety. The van was halted behind a Nissan Rogue that had stopped to make a left turn.
Initial reports claim the Chrysler 200 rear-ended the van, causing it to spin into oncoming traffic where it was hit by a 2003 Ford.
The fourth passenger was reported to be in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.
The three who perished all graduated from high school last spring. Saulters and Mosley attended West Hardin County Consolidated ISD and Neel attended Hardin-Jefferson ISD.
The morning after the wreck, yellow police tape remained matted in the grass where the vehicles likely landed. A fractured rearview mirror and a pink bow were strewn on either side of the small farm-to-market road.
"It's still pretty raw for our community," said Jim Armstrong, superintendent of West Hardin CCISD, who described the unincorporated Hardin County communities as family-oriented and tight-knit.
Hailey Trest, who had plans to move in with Mosley and Neel as roommates, said the pair were "the most outgoing, loving souls you could ever be around."
"Alix had this huge love for Jesus that was unimaginable and Caringtin always had a smile on her face," said Trest, a Sour Lake resident. "My heart and prayers go out to each and everyone experiencing hurt from the loss of our angels."
The father of a 2-year-old, Saulters "was a wonderful dad to his little boy," Willis said.
Online GoFundMe efforts launched by family members to pay for funeral expenses and other financial uncertainties collectively raised more than $6,500 by Monday evening.
The fourth passenger in the Chrysler 200, 17-year-old Jaron Benavides of Kountze, was taken by medical helicopter to a Beaumont hospital with critical injuries.
His mother, Heather Yates, said Benavides underwent surgery to remove his spleen and gallbladder and to put a rod in his left leg. He has a fractured right leg and a partially collapsed lung, Yates said.
Benavides woke up at one point, and Yates recalled that a tear rolled down his right cheek.
"We are still here ... just waiting (at the hospital)," said Yates, who said she'd known Mosley and Saulters "their whole lives."
Benavides still doesn't know of the death of his friends "as he is staying sedated," Yates said. "We dread having to tell him this."
"Our hearts are completely broken for our community," she said.
The driver of the van, a 71-year-old man from Beaumont; and the driver of Ford, a 75-year-old man from Thicket, were both taken to St. Elizabeth with serious injuries.