Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

Friends and family are rallying around two teens severely injured in a car crash near the Phoenix-Glendale boundary Friday night and the families of two others killed in the accident.

Isia Slater, 16, and Yohana Giorgis, 17, were killed in the crash; Savanna Ranger and Yohana's twin sister, Bana Giorgis, suffered extensive injuries, according to friends. All four were seniors at Betty H. Fairfax High School in the Laveen community of southwest Phoenix.

A truck was traveling east on Camelback Road near 59th Avenue when it T-boned a sedan carrying the four teens, according to Glendale police. Police detained the driver of the truck, a 27-year-old man, saying they were investigating possible impairment, speed and whether a red light had been run. Police on Tuesday had no further information on the investigation.

'Like two peas in a pod'

They were coming from shopping for the homecoming dance on Oct. 29, said Ruth Belai, the Giorgises' cousin. She said she has "watched them grow up since diaper days."

"Those two were like two peas in a pod. Growing up, when you say their name, they both turn around and you can never figure out who’s who cause they knew they could trick anybody," she said.

She said people often put their names together into one: Yohanabana.

"Yohana was a high-spirited girl; you would never see her sad at all. She would walk into a room and lighten up a day," she said.

Bana is in the hospital in stable condition.

Family members are planning a vigil for Yohana and prayers for Bana at 6 p.m. Thursday at Cesar Chavez Park. More than 300 people have said they are interested or will be attending the event.

A GoFundMe campaign for Yohana has raised more than $6,000 in about a day. A GoFundMe for Isia has raised about $600 in less than a day.

A basketball star and a sweetheart

Students gathered around the school flagpole Monday to honor the victims, leaving balloons and notes for the two. They also gathered in the school gym Sunday to honor Isia, who was a star basketball player.

"There was so many tears there. So much family that went. It was really heartfelt and you could really feel the pain there. But a takeaway I got from that was that we have to learn to move on and love each other. I learned we can't take life for granted," friend Zak Canada said.

"Isia was a good guy. When I played basketball with him in PE, he made good memories and laughs. It's going to hurt not seeing him around anymore. Yohana always had a smile on her face, she was so positive. she was really kindhearted and she was always there for people," Canada said.

He designed custom shirts to commemorate the two that say "Yohana" on the front with a sunflower and "King Uno" on the back, a reference to Isia's number on the basketball team and also why some have posted using the hashtag #LongLiveKingUno.

The crash happened while the students were on fall break, and it was the day before Isia's birthday.

Jalen Ramsey, a senior at Mountain Pointe High School, said Isia was like a brother to him. Ramsey tore his ACL in a basketball game during their sophomore year at Fairfax, and said Isia "was the first one there supporting me. He was telling me to never give up, work harder than everyone else doubting you."

"I loved everything about him. He was such a loving and caring person. He was always there for me," Ramsey said.

"He put others before himself. I want people to know that he was an amazing young man," Ramsey said. "He'll always be in my heart."

Among the communities rallying around the victims are the Habesha, or people from Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Giorgis family is Eritrean.

"Once we found this out, we all lost her. It wasn’t just a family — it’s a community," Belai said. "When somebody loses somebody, this whole community lost somebody. The support from the Habesha community, Eritreans and Ethiopians, is amazing. The family has so much support right now."