N.C. Community Mourns ‘Unimaginable Loss’ of Soccer Goalie and Girlfriend Killed by Drunk Driver: ‘They Were Soulmates’

A North Carolina community is grieving after a college soccer player and his girlfriend were killed in a head-on crash authorities say was caused by an impaired driver.

Fletcher Harris, 20, was driving a Honda Accord with his girlfriend, Skylar Provenza, 19, on Jan. 16 when a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck crossed the center median and slammed into them, a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Both Harris and Provenza were pronounced dead at the scene. Harris was ejected from the vehicle through the front windshield.

Juan Alvarado Aguilar, 37, was arrested the next day in connection with the crash, according to local court records. The records state police noticed a “strong odor of alcohol” and that Aguilar was “unsteady on feet.”

Aguilar is charged with two counts of felony death by vehicle, along with driving while intoxicated and driving without a valid license. He is being held on a $5 million bond at the Rowan County Jail and has been placed under a detainer by federal immigration authorities.

Aguilar has not yet been assigned a public defender, according to court records. It was not immediately clear whether he has entered a plea.

Harris was a junior at Catawba College, where he double-majored in environmental sustainability and biology. He made the dean’s list every semester and served as a goalkeeper for the school’s soccer team, the Catawba Athletic Department said in a statement.

“This is an unimaginable loss for his family, friends, and our campus community,” Vice President for Athletics Michelle Caddigan said. “Fletcher was an exceptional student, a dedicated athlete, and a true friend to so many.”

At Bandys High School, Harris earned varsity letters in soccer, football, and track, according to his Catawba profile page.

In his obituary, Harris’ family — including his parents and three younger brothers — remembered him as someone who “stood out not only for his talent, but for the way he elevated everyone around him.”

An avid outdoorsman, Harris had spoken about working for the U.S. Forest Service or serving in the military.

Harris met Provenza at a summer job waiting tables, his obituary said. In Provenza’s obituary, her family wrote that it was “evident they were soulmates.”

Provenza, who “embodied beauty and simplicity,” had recently graduated from the Dermacademy Spa Lab and was preparing to begin her career at Datre Hair Co., her family said. In high school, she participated on the softball and cheer teams.

She is survived by her parents, as well as her brother and sister.

“There are not enough pages to write all of the family and friends whose lives were forever changed by Skylar, and who will miss her so deeply,” her family wrote in the obituary. “Skylar’s absence leaves an ache words cannot fully hold.”