A couple killed in a crash on Highway 126 last month were driving to their jobs Ventura, where they both worked for the city Parks & Recreation Department.

The deaths of Amber Wyatt, 29, and John Sibthorp, 35, hit colleagues hard.

On Jan. 9, the city of Ventura recognized the pair with a proclamation for the families during the City Council meeting.

“News of their accident has left us all with heavy hearts, touching the lives of thousands, not just the City Council and city employees, but also all the residents they served at our aquatics center and park facilities,” said Mayor Joe Schroeder during the meeting. “We’re honored to have members of their families and friends join us tonight to celebrate them and their dedication to our community.”

The pair lived in Santa Clarita, where a celebration of life is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at The Centre, 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway.

Wyatt’s father described how the two grew closer sharing seemingly different interests.

“Amber introduced him to things like Taylor Swift and Disneyland. He introduced her to baseball and football,” Richard Wyatt said in an interview. “They just melded together and adopted each other’s interests and likes. They were an excellent match.”

A GoFundMe campaign for funeral expenses launched by Amber’s twin sister had raised just over $53,000 toward a goal of $70,000 as of Saturday morning.

Lora Wyatt, Amber’s mother, said the couple met at the Santa Clarita aquatics center in their early 20s when both worked as lifeguards.

In Ventura, Amber was offered a position first as aquatics coordinator at the Ventura Aquatics Center and was promoted to aquatics supervisor last year, Lora Wyatt said. Sibthorp found a job as a Ventura parks supervisor within the last six months.

“They were able to commute together,” the mother said.

Stacey Zarazua, parks manager, who hired both Amber Wyatt and Sibthorp, said they died way too soon.

“They were incredible people … they’ll be dearly missed,” Zarazua said in an interview. “It’s a really hard loss. My heart goes out to their family and it just puts everything into perspective of what matters most, and that’s our loved ones. We’re going to do our best to carry on their memory and do the good work of serving our community and make them both proud.”

The head-on crash occurred on Dec. 20 on Highway 126, east of Santa Paula. Wyatt died at the scene. Sibthorp died the next morning at Ventura County Medical Center. The other driver, a 44-year-old Fillmore man, was taken to Ventura County Medical Center with moderate injuries and was later released from the hospital, the California Highway Patrol reported.

CHP officials said Sibthorp was driving a Honda Civic westbound, with Wyatt in the passenger seat, when the car crossed into oncoming traffic around 8:35 a.m. The Honda hit the Fillmore man’s eastbound Ford F-150 pickup truck.

The roadway was wet, but CHP officials didn’t immediately know whether rain was a factor. An update on the investigation wasn’t available as of Friday.

The family is still waiting on the accident report to be completed, which could take three months to a year, Richard Wyatt said.

They plan to keep the GoFundMe account online a little longer. “There’s still a lot of expenses ahead we haven’t covered,” he said.

The money contributed so far makes the family proud.

“We’re overwhelmed by the reactions of people,” Richard Wyatt said. “It’s just amazing how much love and recognition they’re getting.”

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura mourns couple killed in Highway 126 crash near Santa Paula