PARLIER, Calif. (KFSN) — Friends and family of 15-year-old Juliani Moreno overflowed out of Our Lady of Sorrows church in Parlier Wednesday morning, remembering the young life cut short.
“He was always excited about something new going on in his life, always excited to share with us,” Moreno’s friend, Cesar Ramos, said.
Police say Moreno was struck and killed by a suspected DUI driver, 35-year-old Tiffany Mercado.
It happened two weeks ago in Parlier on Mendocino and Parlier avenues as Moreno was walking in the crosswalk.
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“My friend told me, and I didn’t believe him at first. I started looking around, and it was true. Gone just like that,” Moreno’s friend Adan stated.
Prosecutors say Mercado was high after huffing an air canister as she blew through this stop sign at 80 to 100 miles per hour when she allegedly hit Moreno, sending shockwaves through the community.
“I just burst out and ran out of my house,” Ramos recalled. “I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.”
“I was crying,” Moreno’s friend Noah Medina said.
On Wednesday, mourners were given a police escort between Moreno’s funeral mass and his final resting place, passing the intersection where his life was taken.
“I can’t imagine what the family is going through right now,” Interim Parlier Police Chief Mike Salvador stated.
Friends say the teen was a rising star athlete at Immanuel High School with his entire life ahead of him.
“He just had the most creative random jokes ever. Out of nowhere, just to make you laugh anytime,” Adan said.
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A memorial continues to grow at the crash site with candles spelling out LLJ: Long live Juliani.
“This tragedy has touched just about every single person in this city,” Chief Salvador stated.
Many at Moreno’s funeral and grave site were dressed in white, others with pictures of him, honoring his memory.
“I’m going to miss being around him, talking to him,” Ramos said.
“I miss his jokes. just him being there,” Medina added.
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