LARGO, Fla. — A family is trying to get answers after two souls were taken in an instant early Sunday morning in Largo.
Ariadna Sanchez and Paulino Trejo-Mendoza were heading home from a night out when police say a driver ran a red light and hit their car at around 5 a.m. The impact killed them both.
"They weren't ready. They were too young," Eileen Leonardo, a friend of the two, said.
She was with them hours before the crash happened and says the two were just 15 minutes from Ariadna's home. Paulino was going to drop her off.
"She was my best friend. He was a really, really close friend for many years," Leonardo said. "I just feel like this is such a huge nightmare. They went on a trip and didn't tell me and they're gonna come back and tell me this was just a huge, big mistake."
Wednesday evening, friends and family in mourning created an altar at their resting place. Flowers, candles and their photos in the exact spot their car landed.
"It's my first time here. I haven't had the strength to come and see it for myself," Ariadna's mother Adriana Sanchez said.
She says it's unfortunate that her daughter's life was taken the way it was. She wants everyone to remember her as a loving girl who was funny and always put a smile on everyone's face. Sanchez and her husband have been feeling an inconsolable pain.
"My heart sank when the officer told me what he did. There are no words to describe the pain. I think that the other family is destroyed just like us," Mario Sanchez said.
They didn't know Ariadna and Paulino's lives were taken until their daughter didn't show up for lunch the next day. Their friends who were with them found out first.
"A detective called me to ask me when was the last time that I saw them, when was the last time I heard from them, which was at 4 a.m.," Leonardo said. "After that, he asked me to send him a picture of what was she last wearing."
That picture helped identify the 22-year-old and Paulino shortly after.
Largo police say they responded to the intersection of East Bay Drive and Starkey Road in reference to an accident resulting in two fatalities. A 2016 Silver Mercedes Benz was traveling east on East Bay Dr. at a high rate of speed when a 2014 Black Honda Civic was traveling south on Starkey Road. Witnesses reported the Mercedes ran a red light and collided with the 2014 Honda Civic Paulino and Ariadna were in.
"Going 100 mph is a choice and you have that conscience now," Leonardo said. "They just went out. We just went out to have a good night. They were going home and I just want justice for both."
Police say both died on the scene and the driver of the Mercedes was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. So far, investigators say they don't know if impairment was a factor involving this crash and the investigation is ongoing. They also have yet to release the driver's information, but the family says they need answers.
"We need to press charges on this person because it isn't fair. This time it's my kids, tomorrow, who else could it be," Mario said.
Paulino's family honored him in church Wednesday evening. Ariadna's family is raising funds to transport her body to Mexico where she'll be buried. If you'd like to support them, you can here.