Dozens of friends and family members gathered at the Resthaven Cemetary in Glendale to honor Keighlob Yellowhair's life.
He was one of seven people in a minivan heading to a youth group gathering at a church when they were hit by a woman who Peoria police said failed to yield at a stop sign.
Amber Sloan, 23, now faces charges of reckless endangerment for causing the crash. Five children were hurt in the crash, along with Yellowhair's godparents.
His younger brother Adrian Cantu was ejected from the car and suffered lacerations and broken bones.
His mother Laurinda Yellowhair said she felt "broken." While she had forgiven the woman who was suspected of causing this crash, she was trying to stay strong for her other children.
The hardest part for this grieving mother was to see her child laying on a hospital bed, lifeless with tubes running through his small body. After one day on life support, Yellowhair had to make the difficult decision to pull the plug.
"It was very hard, but I knew that he was hurting and I didn't want my baby to hurt anymore, so I had to take him off," said Yellowhair.
Keighlob was a missionary. His dream was to build homes in Mexico and he had the opportunity to do just that with his church group. His mother said he loved to help people.
She believes her younger son Adrian survived because of Keighlob.
"I belive that he saved Adrian, that's his guardian angel," said Yellowhair.
She wanted to challenge the community to honor Keighlob's memory by putting cell phones away while driving for at least 30 days.
The family needs help with funeral and burial costs. If you would like to contribute, click here.
