Families are grappling with the deaths of two people who died in a truck accident

The victim’s brother said he found out about the accident through an emergency alert sent to his phone

BOUSE, Ariz. – Two best friends who live in the Valley were killed in a fiery accident after they hit a semi-truck on their way to work.

The family has identified the victims as Christopher Stevens, 21, and Jonathan Hernandez, 21.

“They definitely loved each other very much,” Steven’s brother Elijah said. “There was nothing that could break these two apart.”

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the accident occurred before noon Wednesday on State Route 72 near Bouse, about two hours west of Phoenix. A pickup truck driven by Stevens and Hernandez crashed into the bed while the tractor-trailer was slowing to make a turn.

The van caught fire after the accident, trapping both men inside. Stevens died at the scene and Hernandez was flown to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

“I didn’t want to believe it,” Elijah Stevens said.

Stevens said his brother and Hernandez worked together for a local funeral home and were driving to Lake Havasu City looking for a job when the accident happened. He found out about it when he received an emergency notification on his phone that his brother had been in an accident.

To avoid panicking, Stevens called his brother several times to find out what happened. When Christopher didn’t respond, Stevens got into his car and drove to their destination. Stevens said he then got the call that his brother had died.

“(Christopher) was really nice to me the whole time,” he said. “I think (Christopher) knew I didn’t have many friends, so he was always there to be there for me, my best friend.”

The family is now mourning the death of their loved ones. Adding to the grief, Stevens and other family members claim that law enforcement has not confirmed that Stevens and Hernandez died in the crash.

“It’s kind of disturbing to know that if I hadn’t gotten that text message, I would just think my brother was lost now,” Stevens said.

They are now waiting for an autopsy to be performed on Christopher.

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