Inset: Jesse Lovato (Navajo County Sheriff's Office). Background: Giovanni Huerta, Kiah Begaye and their two sons, Dakota and Malakai (GoFundMe).
Two high school sweethearts from Arizona were killed alongside their two young sons — just months into their marriage — when a pickup driver slammed into the family head-on as they drove home from visiting relatives over Labor Day weekend, cops say.
Giovanni Huerta, 26, and his wife, 26-year-old Kiah Begaye, were driving back from New Mexico to their Maricopa County home with their two sons, 4-year-old Dakota and 2-year-old Malakai, when the crash happened on Monday afternoon.
"In an instant, a beautiful family of four was taken from us, leaving behind heartbroken family members and loved ones who are struggling to understand how this could have happened," a GoFundMe says.
"Kiah and Giovanni were only 26 years old, with their whole lives ahead of them," the fundraiser explains. "Dakota was just 4 years old, and little Malakai was only 2 — both had just started preschool. They were a family who should have had countless more birthdays, holidays, memories, and moments together."
The Arizona Department of Public Safety says Huerta and Begaye were traveling along State Route 260 near Heber-Overgaard when Jesse Lovato, 21, slammed into them head-on. Lovato was arrested after the crash and charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Huerta and Begaye had been high school sweethearts before marrying in April, according to their parents, who spoke to AZ Family this week.
"It doesn't seem fair at all because they were so young," said Chrissy Kaibetoney, Begaye's mother. "They had a whole life ahead of them. They had plans, goals and adventures they wanted to go on."
Huerta's father, Joel Huerta, told AZ Family, "It's like a dream, and I'm still waiting to wake up. I wake up, and I'm still in the dream — more like a nightmare. They were my world. My son, my only son. Two generations just gone like that."
The newlyweds were building a life together in Laveen, according to their families. Huerta worked as a mechanic, while Begaye was starting a Native American clothing business, AZ Family reports.
"Losing your loved ones in an instant like that has no words to describe it," Kaibetoney said.
Arrest documents obtained by local NBC affiliate KPNX say Lovato told police that he fell asleep while driving.
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