Halloween Hit-and-Run Funerals: 'Be Grateful for Gifts and Keep on Loving'

Three white balloons released by family members ascended into the sky at a funeral for teenage twin girls, who were killed by a hit-and-run driver in Santa Ana on Halloween night.

Breitbart News reported last week that the alleged driver, 31-year-old  Jaquinn Bell, was traveling at a “high rate of speed” with a suspended license from a previous conviction for hit-and-run while driving under the influence.

A Spanish-language Mass was held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Ana for Lexi and Lexandra Perez, who were put to rest on Saturday in twin white caskets decorated with roses and pink carnations.

The Los Angeles Times reported that shortly after the service, a second funeral was held for the twins’ friend Andrea Gonzalez at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange. Gonzalez also lost her life in the fatal collision, which took place in front of Fairhaven Elementary School.

Family had requested that attendees wear white at the funeral for Lexi and Lexandra, while many commiserating at Sandra’s services wore purple because that was the young girl’s favorite color. 

Mourners at Sandra’s service let go purple balloons into the air after writing heartfelt messages and attaching them to the strings. Maria Gonzalez, Andrea’s mother, quivering in sadness, held on to her balloon a moment longer before finally releasing the string, allowing the balloon to drift upward toward the heavens.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Reverend Marlon Beof reminded those present at the Mass that life is “temporary.” He added that people “should be thankful for those 13 years” that Lexi and Lexandra were with them.  The Reverend asked the bereaved “to be grateful for the gifts they shared, and just keep on loving.”

Monsignor Douglas Cook shared with those attending the Holy Family service for Sandra that he had lost his father when he was only twelve years old. His mother told him on the day of his father’s funeral to mow the lawn, which Cook considered a strange request at the time. Later in life he came to realize that pushing the mower was an effective way for him to deal with his grief and became a symbol for him that we must “keep pushing forward” in life regardless of the circumstances.

“So keep pushing, keep pushing forward,” Cook told the congregation.