Ching and his brother shared a 'special bond', their mother said

The driver of the vehicle, a fellow Marine, had over-corrected the truck after it went off the highway and it flipped - he survived with injuries

He had told his sister he would be home to see his brother Alex off on his first day of the second grade

Lance Cpl. Brennan Ching was killed when the vehicle he was traveling in rolled over in Utah as he headed from California to Colorado

A Marine has died in a car crash as he headed home to surprise his little brother on the first day of school.

Lance Cpl. Brennan Ching, 20, had planned on putting his eight-year-old brother, Alex Vicary, on the school bus in Fort Collins, Colorado for his first day of second grade on Tuesday.

But last Friday, as Ching and a friend drove from their base in Las Flores, California, they were involved in a deadly rollover crash on Interstate 70 near Salina in central Utah.

The driver, his close friend and fellow Marine Jesus T. Paredes, over-corrected after driving off the highway, causing the truck to roll at 6.30am, Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Dwayne Baird said.

Loss: 20-year-old Marine Brennan Ching, pictured, was driving from California to Colorado to surprise his little brother last Friday when the car he was in rolled over, killing him instantly

Lance Cpl. Ching's eight-year-old brother Alex Vicary was attending his first day of second grade on Tuesday

Ching was killed instantly. Parades, of Fallbrook, California, survived and was hospitalized with leg injuries.

Both men had been wearing seatbelts, but the passenger side of the truck suffered the most damage. Scene images show the top of the truck was crushed.

Earlier that day, Ching had called his sister, Sarah Ching, 23, to say he was planning to take his brother Alex to school the following week, The Coloardoan reported.

The tragedy came months after the paper published a story about Ching coming home to surprise Alex last March.

Tribute: The driver of the car, Ching's close friend and fellow Marine Jesus Paredes (right), shared this image of him and Ching to Facebook after the deadly crash. Paredes, who had overcorrected, suffered injuries Loved: Ching, pictured left and right, and his eight-year-old brother shared a 'special bond', their mother said

He carried out the surprise after Alex, who was always wishing for his big brother to visit, sent a letter to the Easter bunny asking that his brother be brought home.

Mother Sue Vicary said the two shared 'a special bond,' with Ching teaching Alex how to tie his shoes, taking him fishing and reading to him almost every night when he was home.

She said Alex talked about his older brother every day and came up with different wishes to try to bring him home.

Alex didn't know about this brother's latest trip. After finding out he had died, Vicary said he picked up a leaf and made a wish that his brother would come back to him.

'All these times, he's believed and seen that his wishes would come true,' she said. 'But there's no amount of leaves he can pull to make that come true.'

Damage: Scene photographs show that the vehicle suffered extensive damage in the crash on Friday

Escape: The driver only suffered leg injuries as the passenger side of the vehicle suffered the most damage

After the crash on Friday, Paredes, who had driven the vehicle, took to Facebook to pay tribute to his friend.

'Rest in peace brother,' he wrote. 'Hope your [sic] being our guardian angel to look out for us on our journey. It's hard accepting the fact that your gone. I miss you already bud. I wish it would of been me instead of you. Everything happened so fast for us to even catch what was happening.'

Beneath a picture he shared of the pair together, friends also paid tribute to the talented Marine and offered words of comfort to his grieving friend.