Family, friends and former teachers gathered at St. Louise Parish in Bellevue on Monday for a memorial service for two 2014 Redmond High School graduates who died in a car accident last Friday night.

Jose Alaniz-Escalante, 19, was driving an Acura Integra and Erwin Mendoza, 18, was the passenger when they died at the scene in a head-on collision in the 18400 block of Northeast 128th Way near Redmond, according to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. DB Gates.

“We lost two really good people,” said Jenni Martinez, a current Redmond High School senior. Martinez said her friends were kind and humble.

“Erwin was a gentle giant, and Jose was a little rascal — a fun, young kid,” she added.

Gates said a witness called 911 at about 5:30 p.m. to report the accident, during which the Acura collided with a Honda Accord occupied by three people.

The Acura was driving west on Northeast 128th Way when it collided with the eastbound-moving Honda occupied by two adults and a 4-year-old child. An adult female in the Honda was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries while the adult male and child sustained minor injuries.

“The investigation will take weeks for the detectives to complete,” said Gates.

Gates said the King County Sheriff’s Office Major Accident Response and Reconstruction (MARR) unit will reconstruct what occurred and determine the cause, speeds and whether drugs or alcohol were involved.

A KOMO-TV report said witnesses told police two cars were “speeding down the road prior to the crash,” and that deputies searched for the second car that may have been involved in a street race.

“Street racing has been ruled out,” Gates said on Monday.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office released the names of the deceased on Monday. Gates said the sheriff’s office doesn’t release the names of the surviving victims.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it are asked to call the King County Communications Center at (206) 296-3311.

King County Sheriff’s Office photo