Twelve-year-old Aryana Pizarro was going into seventh grade and had recently shown off to her brother her school supplies, which included unicorn-covered notebooks.
Her mother Aileen, a 43-year-old mother of three, was working toward her license as a marriage and family counselor, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
But now, those who knew and loved the California mother and daughter are planning their funerals.
Shortly before 5 p.m. last Thursday, Aileen and Aryana were in their Hyundai SUV in the carpool lane near Universal City on the 805 Highway when a McLaren sports car driven by 18-year-old Trevor Heitmann ran into them in a head-on collision.
Both vehicles burst into flames and the Pizarros were announced dead at the scene, according to reports. (The death of the mom and daughter was confirmed by a GoFundMe page launched by Dominic Pizarro, Aileen’s son and Aryana’s brother.)
Heitmann, a YouTube star better known by the moniker “McSkillet,” had been recorded traveling 100 miles per hour. He died of “blunt force trauma,” according to the report from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Dominic told the Union-Tribune he was out of town with his grandfather when the accident occurred and was crushed by the news.
He said his younger sister was musically talented and wanted to be a jazz singer when she grew up.
“That was the kind of music she loved,” her brother told the paper. “She could sing any pop song on the radio. (But) she knew Billie Holiday just as much as she knew Bruno Mars.”
He described his mother as a natural therapist who brought light to hopeless situations and a mother who was always there for them.
“[She] did everything for us. We were raised by her and our grandpa,” Dominic said. “She was selfless. She didn’t think about herself at all.”
On the GoFundMe page, he wrote, “During this time, me, my grandfather, and brother are trying to come to grasp with our new reality and push forward with our lives.”
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Following the crash, Aileen’s youngest son Angelo tweeted to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson about how his mother was a huge fan and asked for a video message to honor his mom.
“My beautiful mom who passed away loved @TheRock so so SO much. I’m trying to get him to do even a video saying her name for the funeral. If you could retweet the crap outta this for him to see it that’d mean the world. Thank you!” Angelo wrote.
Johnson later replied with a video in which he expressed his condolences.
“I’m sending you so much love and light and strength your way, from my family to yours,” Johnson says in a video Angelo later posted. “I’m so sorry to hear about your sister and your mom and this tragic loss that you’re going through. If your mom could see me now, which I’m sure she can, I just want to thank her for all the love and for being such a big fan. Stay strong.”
As of Sunday, the California Highway Patrol was investigating whether Heitmann was intentionally driving into oncoming traffic.
According to multiple reports, authorities believe Heitmann was involved in an incident at Ashley Falls School in San Diego just 30 minutes before the fatal crash. CNN obtained a statement from the school stating that a car, believed to be Heitmann’s, “drove through the side gate and an individual got out of the car and threw an item at a door, breaking a window.”
