Kiara Valdez and Jahlil Kirkland’s loved ones gather for a balloon release after the couple died in a hit-and-run on Sunday. NBC 5’s Tahera Rahman spoke with the family.
To know 23-year-old Kiara Valdez was to know laughter said loved ones.
“If you were sad, she’s going to do everything she can to turn that around, to at least crack a smile. But her goal was to make you laugh," said Nicole Valdez, her mother.
“Anybody who ever met her had a hoot-- boy, I’m talking about it doesn’t even have to be funny and it’s funny," said friend Alexus Wickerham.
It's what Valdez's aunt, Chante Valdez, is hanging onto.
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"She was just a ball of fun, and what I'm going to miss is her laugh the most," she said.
That's after all of it disappeared in an instant last Sunday.
Arlington Police said they responded to the intersection of East Lamar Boulevard and Corporate Drive at about 11:32 p.m. to find 23-year-old Valdez and a 22-year-old man dead.
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Loved ones identified the man as Jahlil Kirkland, Valdez's boyfriend, and said the two were likely walking home after getting something to eat.
Police said 33-year-old Nathan Vaughan was speeding through the intersection when he veered onto the sidewalk and hit the two victims, then pulled back onto the road and sped away.
They said Vaughan admitted to being the driver of the car and thought he'd hit a light pole.
Investigators found out he had just left one bar and headed to another when he hit the victims.
“It’s still a shock. I wake up every morning hoping this is a nightmare," said Nicole. “That crash literally crashed our family’s life."
Kiara was one of two kids for Nicole, and one of her last memories is one that came the day after Thanksgiving when Kiara texted her mom telling her there was a package at the front door.
“I open the door, it’s Kiara and Jahlil. Jahlil was like, ‘She was missing her mama, so we Ubered over here," Nicole recalled.
She said her daughter and Kirkland spent the night at her house, and it's a memory she'll cherish forever.
Alexus Wickerham said she was close friends with both Valdez and Kirkland.
“That was more than his friend, that was his soulmate," she said before the balloon release in their honor on Saturday at S.J. Stovall Park in Arlington. “I’m just grateful that they’re both together.”
Dozens of people gathered at the park with blue balloons for Kirkland and pink for Valdez.
“Kiara loved her some pink. Everything had to be pink. If you had anything pink, you had to keep it from her, otherwise she would take it," Nicole laughed.
She said she cried seeing so many people come together for her daughter.
"It makes my heart smile a little bit, even while it’s shattered," She said.
Nicole said her quest for justice continues-- knowing Vaughan is behind bars isn't the end.
"It does offer a little bit of closure, but finding him is only the beginning. Stopping him would give me the utmost closure. Stopping him from doing this to another family," she said.
Records indicate that Vaughan was already facing a DWI charge from another incident that happened in 2023.
As she prepares to seek justice, Nicole said she doesn't want people to forget her daughter.
“I just want people to know her... These are people’s lives. This is not a statistic. And that’s why we have to say their names. We have to stand up for our kids—nobody else will," she said. "I mean, as parents, there’s already so many dangers that we have to remind our kids about. Now we have to add walking on the sidewalk? It shouldn’t be that way. It’s not right.”
