‘He’s with us always’ Family remembers young man killed in golf cart crash one year ago

Tuesday marks one year since the tragic golf cart accident that took the life of 22-year-old Indio resident Christian Capelouto.

He crashed in a canal near the Terra Lago golf course in Indio while driving a caged golf cart picker.

Capelouto, who was a golf cart clerk, died at the scene.

The canal is a hard spot for his family to be at. They tell us they don’t want it to be remembered as a place of tragedy, but rather as a place to remember the life he lived.

“It's been rough. I have my moments where I look, look for him. Remember, I remember exactly what he said to me that day," said Julie Capelouto, his grandmother. "He goes okay, grandma. See you tonight. Love you. He always told me he loved me. And we always said I loved you."

His grandma telling News Channel 3's Samantha Lomibao he was her best friend, and that she misses him every single day.

“How lucky am I to have had this special person to take care of and raise and love," she added, "Just his presence, just saying I love you, grandma.”

Loved ones gathered to the spot where the tragic crash happened, to turn it into a place where he will never be forgotten.

“I want people to know he was here that he lived. And I just wanted that recognition," Julie said.

Red and yellow flowers were laid on top of memorial stone. The colors representing Capelouto’s favorite superhero ‘The Flash’.

They say it's the first time family has been back to the site where it all happened.

“He's with us always. And he's in our hearts. And we carry us with Him every day. This was where we lost him. But it's not where he is," said Stephanie Carlucci, Capelouto’s aunt.

She wants to honor her nephew and his passion for golf by putting together an annual tournament in his name.

“Something that we could honor Chris in an annual way. And our family has a lot of golfers, he worked at a golf course," Carlucci explained. "The proceeds from that will go to different animal organizations, because that was something that was very, very close to Christian's heart, and that he was passionate about was about animals.”

It's a way of keeping his memory alive.

“To have something that we can look forward to every year in a positive celebratory way, um, just to honor him and his memory."