Newlyweds killed in Utah car crash

EAGLE COUNTY – Their love story was sealed on Friday by love, on Saturday by fate.On Friday afternoon, Monica Covarrubias and David Najera looked in each other’s eyes and promised they would be together for the rest of their lives – in sickness and in health. Just a few hours after they were married, the car they were riding in crashed in southern Utah, killing them both. She was 19, he was 25, and they were on their way to their honeymoon in Las Vegas.”These two kids were meant for each other. In the end, they had to be together. They had to start their other life together,” said Rachel Fabera, a friend of Monica’s mother and a photographer for Wal-Mart who took the couple’s wedding portraits Friday. “In the end Monica didn’t leave David and David didn’t leave Monica,” Fabera said. “It was true love and God had a special place for them.”

Covarrubias, who lived in Avon with her family, graduated this May from Red Canyon High School. She worked in the clothing department and answered phones at Wal-Mart, while Najera, of Edwards, also worked at Wal-Mart unloading merchandise from trucks.”I believe they had tickets to travel by bus, but in the last moment decided to cancel them when someone offered to drive them to Las Vegas after their wedding party on Friday night,” Fabera said. The accident happened Saturday morning on Interstate 15 near Cedar City, Utah. Also traveling in the car was Alberto Munoz, 20, of Avon, another Wal-Mart employee who is in critical condition in a hospital in Utah; and Jesus Tapia, the husband of another Wal-Mart employee, who has already been released from the hospital.”This has been a total shock for the 300 people who work here,” said Jeff Crump, Wal-Mart store manager. “They were excellent Wal-Mart associates. David was a very polite young man. Monica had always a big smile on her face.”According to Emanuel Soto, 23, a cousin of Munoz who also works for Wal-Mart, the car rolled over on a curve.”I understand Monica and David were asleep and they weren’t wearing their seatbelts,” Soto said.

“They were so happy on Friday, they were finally together,” he added, his eyes turning red.Though Covarrubias was born in the United States, the families have decided to bury the couple together in Mexico, where David was born, said Crump, who has requested financial aid from the Wal-Mart foundation program to help with the transportation and burial of the couple as well as Tapia’s and Munoz’s medical expenses.On Tuesday, Wal-Mart employees remembered the couple wearing a white-and-black intertwined ribbon to signify the bride and groom.”She was very polite and sweet,” said Wanda Carter, who had known Monica since she was a child and worked with her in Wal-Mart. “She was a good friend. I will miss our talks.”To Fabera, who has taken hundreds of portraits of newlyweds, it was clear Covarrubias and Najera were madly in love.”She was so happy that day,” Fabera said. “They were constantly walking together and hugging each other. Her eyes had stars when she was with him.”

Contributions soughtThe families of Monica Covarrubias and David Najera need $8,000 to have their bodies transported from Utah to Mexico. Contributions can be made to the Memorial Fund of Monica and David Najera at any FirstBank location.Staff writer Veronica Whitney can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 454 or vwhitney@vaildaily.com. Vail, Colorado