Two teenage boys found dead inside a vehicle discovered submerged in a Denton creek Wednesday morning were brothers who crashed while looking for a lost watch, family members say.
Two teenage boys found dead inside a vehicle discovered submerged in a Denton creek Wednesday morning were brothers who crashed while looking for a lost watch, family members say.
Officials with the Denton Independent School District identified the teens as Diego Rivera, a senior at Guyer High School, and his brother Daniel Rivera, an eighth grader at Calhoun Middle School.
Family members told NBC 5 Diego lost his watch and was going to try to find it Tuesday and that his younger brother said he would go with him. The family said they never heard from the boys again.
At about 8 a.m. Wednesday, state troopers found a white Volkswagen Golf submerged in Denton's Hickory Creek, not far from the intersection of Hickory Creek Road and Country Club Road near Farm-to-Market Road 1830.
Lt. Lonny Haschel, with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said it appeared the vehicle was headed east when it left the road and went over an embankment, overturned and fell into the creek about 25 feet below.
Officials investigating the crash found the bodies of two males inside; the identities were later confirmed to be the Rivera brothers.
Diego Rivera, 17, was a goalkeeper for Guyer High School's varsity soccer team.
Head soccer coach Cody Schroeder said Diego was a team player on and off the field.
"Always a smile on his face, always with good effort, never complained," Schroeder said.
A three-day soccer tournament will now be named in Diego's honor. The tournanment begins Thursday afternoon. The game between Guyer High School and Lewisville High School will be begin with a moment of silence followed by a tribute to Diego.
Wednesday night, teammates gathered at Diego's favorite restaurant, Cici's Pizza, to remember him.
"I'm here talking because I want to be strong and show my friends that even though he's gone, he's always here with us," said Armando Deleon, Diego's teammate and best friend.
Daniel Rivera, 14, was an eight-grader at Calhoun Middle School. He played football as a defensive lineman and always looked up to his big brother, according to an online fundraiser set up for the family.
A cause for the crash has not yet been determined, but NBC 5 noted that in the area near the crash site there are no streetlights and no guardrail. The Denton Fire Department told NBC 5 they respond to many crashes in the area.
Funeral arrangements for the boys are pending.
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NBC 5's Meredith Yeomans, Maria Guerrero and Eline de Bruijn contributed to this report.
