LA FERIA — Immediately after Kayla Ruelas’ father was told she had passed away in a car crash, he caught the next flight out of Arkansas to come home and make funeral arrangements for his daughter.
The family, obviously not being prepared for the tragic loss of their loved one, quickly set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral services.
Yesterday, the family was making those arrangements at the Heavenly Grace Funeral home in La Feria knowing more than $4,000 had already been raised.
On Thursday, Kayla’s vehicle veered off the road and landed in the Arroyo Colorado.
The car crash happened around 3 p.m. southwest of the city of La Feria on Farm to Market Road 2556 south of Business 83.
Kayla, 19, died at the scene.
Authorities did not release Kayla’s identity until hours after the crash and once their investigation was complete.
Multiple authorities assisted in the investigation led by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
DPS says the preliminary investigation revealed Kayla lost control of her vehicle, went off the road, spun once and then fell into the Arroyo Colorado.
Kayla was driving a tan Toyota Camry. She was the only person in the vehicle.
The Weslaco Fire Department dive team assisted in recovering Kayla’s body from the river.
And within 24 hours of Kayla’s passing her family had already received more than 70 contributions to their goal of reaching $5,000 to pay for Kayla’s funeral expenses.
Family and friends donated anywhere from $10 to $500, and were sharing their condolences and prayers to the family on Kayla’s GoFundMe account.
“We are a very big family, so it’s just everyone coming together and her friends to help,” said Zinnia Zuniga, Kayla’s cousin, who organized the GoFundMe web page.
Kayla was a 2016 graduate of Mercedes High School.
She was a student at South Texas College where she was studying to earn a degree in criminal justice.
Zuniga, 32, said the last time she was with Kayla was on Sunday for Easter.
She recalled enjoying taking Kayla on trips with her.
Their last road trip was to Disney World in Florida last year.
“We had a blast,” Zuniga said. “We took a lot of pictures.
“Kayla touched a lot of lives,” Zuniga said. “And she loved taking pictures.”
