Indio family remembers 22-year-old Christian Capelouto, who was killed in golf cart crash

The family of Christian Capelouto, 22, is remembering him as a gentle soul.

On January 17th, Capelouto was driving a caged golf cart picker near the Terra Lago golf club when it somehow ended up submerged in the nearby canal.

“My heart's broken. It's gonna take me a long long time to get over it. Because I miss him so much. I wait for him to come out of his backroom when he's talking to come out, you know,” said Sarah Withington, Christian's great aunt.

First responders were called to the scene at approximately 2:57 p.m. Ben Guitron of the Indio Police Department told News Channel 3 that the victim and the cart were found at the Coachella Valley Canal just east of the main entrance road.

Cal Fire firefighters were able to get the golf cart out of the water, but Christian was pronounced dead at the scene.

Every day, Christian’s great aunt would pick up him from work, but on that day, she didn’t get the usual call from him.

“That was the last time I saw him. The day when he went to work and didn’t come back," Withington said.

His family devastated by the tragic incident that took his life at just 22 years old.

“How lucky can I be to have had him for 22 years– to know and love him. He was supposed to be saying goodbye to me... not me to him," said Julie Capelouto, Christian's grandmother.

Christian died while working as a golf cart clerk at the Terra Lago golf course in Indio. He worked here for about a year-and-a-half. It was a job his father said he loved to do.

“It was just the happiest time for him. I mean, he was always a happy man but he came into his own and found out what he wanted to do in life. And I was very proud of him. I was always proud of him but I was most proud of him over the last year and a half," said John Capelouto, Christian's father.

Christian's family described him as a giving and selfless young man They said he would use the money he earned to take care of those around him. 

“It was the most happy I’ve ever seen him because he had his own money to buy presents for everybody," John said.

His family said Christian will always be remembered as a gentle soul, who touched the lives of everyone he met.

“Just a really good guy that didn’t have any meanness in him. He just loved life," Julie said.

“Just a joy to be around, he was just taken too early. Nothing we can do about it. All we can do is thank every day that we had with him because it was the best years of our lives," Sarah said.

A GoFundMe page has been started to help his family cover costs of services and memorial celebration. Click here to visit the page.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.