MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Around midnight on Nov. 4, pastor Alan Dietzenbach got the type of call that most people can't imagine — one that brought him out to the Marshalltown police station late at night to comfort two families dealing with a loss beyond measure.
"To have two families that have both lost two children was unbelievable and unimaginable. I can't fathom what they're going through and what their siblings are going through," Dietzenbach said.
Friday night, a car carrying four Marshalltown teens crashed into a utility pole, taking the lives of two pairs of siblings.
The victims were 13-year-old Adrian Lara and 16-year-old Isacc Lara, as well as 15-year-old Linette Lopez and 17-year-old Yanitza Lopez.
Hundreds of Marshalltown community members gathered on Saturday, Nov. 5 for a vigil in memory of the victims hosted at St. Henry Catholic Church.
There were so many attendees that some even had to stand because the pews were so full — a sign of how the entire town was struggling with such a loss.
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"Even at the services this weekend, there's this heaviness that people are grappling with," Dietzenbach said. "And they're dealing with it even if they didn't know the families personally. It still is an impacting them personally."
The vigil wasn't the only place the teens' memory is being honored. Friends left bouquets of flowers at the site of the crash Sunday. And the memorial is still growing Sunday as more visitors came to pay their respects.
Dietzenbach told Local 5 he's been moved by all the love shown so far; he just hopes that it continues into the difficult days ahead.
"The family is going to need support a month from now, months from now, a year from now, a couple of years from now," he said. "So, I think that's the important thing to remember, too, is that this isn't just one and done thing. We need to continue to be that support to family and friends long into the future."