Lizette Andrea Cuesta, 19-Year-Old Stabbing Victim, Identifies Suspects From Deathbed

Two teens were arrested Tuesday in Modesto, California, after a 19-year-old woman, who was brutally stabbed and dumped on the side of a remote road near Livermore, identified them as the perpetrators to the authorities before succumbing to her injuries, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said.

Suffering from multiple life-threatening stab wounds and other injuries, Lizette Andrea Cuesta, 19, was still able to drag herself to the side of a road in Livermore. A car saw her around 2 a.m. EST on Monday morning and quickly called for help, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

Richard Loadholt, who was driving to an early shift at UPS with three other people, spotted the woman, Fox40 reported. The group pulled over to help her, covered Cuesta in a blanket, and prayed with her in order to keep her awake and talking until officials arrived to the scene.

"She laid down for almost three minutes at one period, and we told her to get up. She knew she had to get up and I commend that," Loadholt told Fox40. "I hope it will be encouraging to her family to know that their daughter did have that spirit to fight."

Cuesta had been out in the cold weather for several hours and had dragged herself about 100 yards before she was discovered by Loadholt. She was in such a dire condition that first responders quickly deployed a Life Flight helicopter to transport her to a nearby hospital.

"We're not sure how long she was left there like that," Sgt. Kelly, told BuzzFeed News. "She was really suffering but she stayed with us and really fought to live."

She succumbed to her injuries after about two hours, which was enough time for the brave 19-year-old to tell the authorities the names of the people responsible for the crime.

"She stayed present and gave us compelling information before she died, she explained to us who was responsible for doing this to her," Kelly said, estimating the incident surrounding her death "unfolded in a matter of 12 hours."

Cuesta’s dying words led the authorities to arrest Daniel Gross, 19, and his girlfriend Melissa Leonardo, 25, in Modesto, about 50 miles away from where Cuesta was found. They are currently being held in Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder. Cuesta mentioned she knew both of the suspects.

"We know the three were friends and [Cuesta] got into the car consensually that night," Kelly said. "The two suspects are in a relationship and live together but we are still gathering information as to why this happened."

"I’ve been around a long time, and I can only think of two to three times that I’m aware of in our agency that we’ve been able to get a dying declaration like that," Kelly told the San Francisco Chronicle. "A dying declaration is a very compelling piece of evidence that’s recognized in the court to be very credible and reliable information."

Cuesta's aunt and her cousin set up a GoFundMe page for the teenager's funeral expenses.

Vuesta, who studied at San Jose City College, was the oldest of three siblings and loved to skateboard, her aunt Amparo Lopez told BuzzFeed News.

"She was a lovable person and very smart," Lopez said. "She never judged people and was always friendly to everyone. … My heart is broken. I just can't believe it."