HUNTINGTON PARK >> She wanted her dress to be perfect.

Since she was 5, Valerie and her sister Briana had been talking about this date — a joint birthday party where they would celebrate Briana’s quinceañera and Valerie’s sweet sixteen. They constantly talked about what they were going to eat, what color the decorations were going to be and, of course, what fabulous dresses they were going to wear.

Valerie wanted something that wouldn’t upstage Briana’s — a white dress with a jeweled bodice that she had purchased already, but she also wanted something that would be flattering for her. She decided that the dress had to be royal blue since it was a muted color that would enhance Briana’s dress. It was her quinceañera, after all.

On Aug. 31, Briana and Valerie went dress shopping. Each dress that Valerie tried on at six or seven stores just didn’t seem right. Finally, at the last store, she tried on a lacy royal blue floor-length dress and fell in love with it.

There was only one problem: It didn’t have sleeves.

After putting up a fuss, Valerie convinced the dressmaker to append the lacy additions, but the dressmaker told her that it wouldn’t be ready until Sept. 19, the day before the party.

“We picked up the dress yesterday,” Briana said Saturday. “She never got to try it on.”

Valerie Zavala, 16, died Thursday night in a car crash in Ontario that also claimed the life of her friend, Julie Salas, 16, and put friends Eddie Rubio, 16, and Jeremy Torres, 18, in the hospital. Rubio remained hospitalized and Torres was released Saturday. The car belonged to Valerie’s mother.

On Saturday, Valerie’s family went on with the quinceañera at the Oldtimers Foundation in Huntington Park, despite the tragedy.

“We were thinking of canceling,” said Alicia Zavala, Valerie’s mother. “But this is something she would have wanted since she was the one who was involved with the planning, so we didn’t see why we should cancel it. We decided to make it a celebration of her life, her legacy. It’s bittersweet because we are able to do this but sad because she wasn’t able to come.”

After the birthday ceremony, Valerie’s royal blue dress hung unworn on a whiteboard near a recent picture of her smiling and a poster of her through the ages. Roses and a tiara decorated the table and Alicia wept while she arranged the table. A chair draped in white fabric was placed near the memorial.

“She had a really loud personality,” Briana said. “She would just come up to you and get you laughing.”

The party was attended by mostly family since many people thought the event was canceled, Briana said. During the ceremony, Briana and Alicia wept openly, holding each other, struggling to smile for the cameras that were documenting the moment.

“It’s just so hard to conceive,” said teacher Pam Morales. “I can’t believe that this is one of my former students.”

Alicia said that she hopes the schools will allow her to speak to them about the incident. The night that the crash occurred, Valerie had stolen the keys to her mother’s car in order to take home Julie. Rubio, who was unlicensed, was at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.

“It’s something that is going on every day, and it’s something that teenagers don’t think about,” Alicia said. “They don’t think about the consequences of their actions and the things that they do and it could be something that costs them their life.”

A viral post has been circulating among Chino High School students, many of whom were classmates of Valerie and Julie. The post requests that everyone dress up so “we can give our prayers and respect for the people we lost last night.” The post also encourages people to bring flowers.

A memorial account has also been set up for people who want to donate to the family’s funeral preparations and a new car, since the only one they had was destroyed in the crash. People who wish to donate can visit a local Wells Fargo and donate to “Valerie Zavala Memorial Services.”