Madi Duren and Julian Harris (CTSY: Teatro Dallas)
DALLAS - Two recent SMU graduates who were killed in a crash near White Rock Lake are being remembered not just for the lives they lived, but the art they created.
What we know:
Friends and family gathered inside a theater on Saturday night, where they lived so much of their lives.
"I feel like it was so obvious that it needed to be in a theater, like give them one last show," said Moore White, a friend of the graduates.
Julian Harris and Madison Duren were both 22 and shared a love for the stage.
"And they were just beautiful people, talented, of course, but so kind. And in this business, talent will get you places, but kindness will keep you in the room," said Harper Caroline Lee, another friend.
The details of the crash
The backstory:
On October 6, the two were leaving their apartment near White Rock Lake. Harris was driving and Duren was in the passenger seat.
As Harris turned left from Knob Oak Drive onto Garland Road, police say another driver hit their car.
Initially there were no charges, but police later arrested 22-year-old Aldrea Rogers. According to a police affidavit, her speed had reached 82 miles per hour. The speed limit was 35.
Harris died at the scene and Duren died later at the hospital.
Rogers and her two children who were in the car with her survived. She has since been charged with two counts of manslaughter.
She remains in the Dallas County Jail and her bond has been set at half a million dollars.
Police say that a third vehicle involved in the crash left before police could arrive.
Friends trying to come to grips with loss
What they're saying:
For the people who knew Duren and Harris, the loss is still hard to believe.
"I'm currently in a show that Maddie was in when she passed away," Lee said. "We postponed the opening and then opened the show in her honor. And in a better world, she would have been backstage with me praying over the show opening night, and Julian would have been in the audience."
But inside the Greer Garson Theatre, filled with tears and laughter, their friends remembered more than how they died. They remembered how they made others feel.
"Unstoppable," White said.
As for the artists who shared a stage with them, they’ll carry them with them in every performance.
"I truly believe that we will all see each other one day, but I'll miss them until then," Lee said.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by Fox 4's Vania Castillo.