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Late Woodlands veteran identified in tragic Luling crash as friend fights to live

The Courier - 7/20/2017

The Texas Department of Public Safety has released the name of a man who was killed in a car crash near Luling Friday while traveling with his friend from The Woodlands to float the Guadalupe River with friends.

Justin Hartley was driving with his friend Trey Diller when they collided with a truck tractor towing a trailer. Hartley was killed in the crash and Diller was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio, according the Department of Public Safety.

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Hartley, 26, was a U.S. Army veteran of The Woodlands who served overseas before returning home, according to Hartley's GoFundMe page created Sunday by Trey's sister, Tessa Diller. The two men were on their way to San Marcos from the Woodlands for a weekend tubing trip with about 40 other people.

Diller, a former Sam Houston State wide receiver and College Park High School graduate, posted about the trip on his Facebook on July 5, referring to the trip as the "6th Annual Sam Fam River Trip."

"Justin was a beautiful soul who will always be remembered for everything he's done for his friends, family, and country," according to a GoFundMe page for Hartley's funeral expenses which had raised $2,460 of the $20,000 goal by Monday afternoon with the help of 41 people.

Public memorial services for Hartley will be held Tuesday with visitation with the family from 3-5 p.m. and funeral service at 5 p.m. at the Magnolia Funeral Home at 811 South Magnolia.

Diller suffered a traumatic brain injury from the crash but continues to show positive signs. Diller is the co-founder of Inspire Promotions, which promotes events and festivals such as the upcoming Texas Taco Tequila and Margarita Festival in August.

His mother Laura Diller, whose family continues to pray for Justin Hartley's family, told The Courier Monday that Trey, who is uninsured, is a fighter who has been moved out of ICU to a private room where he continues to have 24 hour supervision.

"He is able to identify everyone but has no recollection of the accident," Laura Diller said in a message to The Courier. "We ask for continued prayers as his journey ahead will be extensive but we also know that we serve a mighty God and at the end of the day He is in control."

In the days since the crash, hundreds of people have posted pleas for thoughts and prayers for both Diller and Hartley on social media.

"Trey is one of the most down-to-earth, bighearted people you'd ever meet," Friend Tyler Turner told The Courier.

Diller graduated from College Park in 2008, where he was a first-team all-district wide receiver for coach Richard Carson. After spending one season at Wofford, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound pass catcher moved on to Sam Houston State. In his final season with the Bearkats, he had 62 receptions for 927 yards and four touchdowns. He signed a free-agent contract with the Carolina Panthers after the 2014 NFL draft.

Diller lost his brother Tyler in November 2014 and made a vow to his parents, Al, a businessman in The Woodlands, and Laura, a special education teacher at Kaufman School, to honor the memory of his late brother by launching the inaugural Woodlands Sole Expo in 2015, according to a previous Courier article. His other siblings, Hannah and Tessa, were involved in the project.

The now crashed Chevrolet Avalanche Diller and Hartley were traveling was special to Diller as it belonged to his late brother Tyler.

"It was the last thing he had that kept him close to his brother's memory," Laura Diller said.

For more information about Hartley's GoFundMe page visit https://www.gofundme.com/4501gc0