Friends and teachers of Zachary Long and Shawn Hurt said the 19-year-old men were taken way before their time.
The two were killed in a single-vehicle accident on Saturday (April 12) on Old Springtown Road just east of Gentry.
Long was a 2013 graduate of Siloam Springs High School. Agriculture teacher Mike Rogers said Long was someone who lived week by week, always making sure to do what he loved.
"Zach was full of life," Rogers said. "Zach was the kind of guy that would walk from here to Fort Smith if he didn't have a ride. It didn't stop him. He knew what he was going to do and he was bound and determined to do it.
Rogers said he had Long in class off and on for all of his high school career.
"He liked working with the horses and cattle, and he was very good with livestock," Rogers said.
Rogers said Long also had a passion for welding and working with his hands. He described him as a "man's man."
The other teen killed in the crash was Shawn Hurt, a 2013 graduate of Gentry High School.
Jose Garza was a friend of Hurt's and said he had spoken to him just 17 hours before he found out that his friend had died.
"I just hope that Shawn rests in peace because he didn't deserve to die at 20, but I guess God wanted him up there," Garza said.
Hurt's 20th birthday would have been April 14.
Garza said that Hurt was a good man and working to provide for his family. Hurt was engaged to be married.
A preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle was exceeding the speed limit before it went out of control and crashed, officials said. There was no indication drugs or alcohol were involved, officials said.