Family of Ayden Vargas host community vigil to show everyone how much she was loved

KERRVILLE, Texas — A Kerrville family is mourning the loss of 15 year old Ayden Vargas. Ayden was killed in a car accident on March 24th in Kerrville. Ayden was a passenger in the car along with three other teens and a 19-year-old driver.

“she loved the color purple,” said Erica Casias, Ayden’s aunt.

The color purple was Ayden’s favorite. The color purple is a color of strength, it can symbolize independence, ambition, creative expression, all the things Ayden’s aunt says she was.

“I want her to be remembered (as) very colorful, very free spirited.  She knew what she wanted to do and she really didn’t care what anybody else had to say about it,” said Casias.

The fatal accident happened at 1:30 a.m. after a call filled with teenagers veered off the road in the 200 block of Holdsworth Drive in Kerrville, overturned and crashed into a tree.

Ayden was a passenger in the car. Erica Casias, Ayden’s aunt recalls getting the news from Ayden’s mother.

“I wasn’t expecting that call.  We talk everyday, so to hear say Ayden had passed, I just really couldn’t believe it,” said Casias.

Kerrville Police say two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old were rushed to a local hospital. The driver, 19-year-old Alberto Neri, was airlifted to San Antonio, everyone else in the car survived.

On Saturday evening, Ayden’s family held a vigil and released purple balloons, a symbol not only of her favorite color, but her ambition.

“If she was told, she couldn’t do it—she would say well watch me,” said Casias.

Casias says Ayden wanted to study cosmetology, a symbol of her creative expression.

“She wanted to be a nail technician. She was very artistic to be able to do that,” said Casias.

While purple can be a symbol of Ayden’s independence and free spirit, Saturday’s vigil was meant to show everyone how much she was loved.

“So I would just want to tell her that, she was never like alone, and she was cared for until the end,” said Casias.