Diana Jo "DJ" Weaver doesn't remember all of the details of what happened to her over the weekend.
"She has asked questions, like why was she rolling around inside the cab of the vehicle," said Weaver's uncle, Tim Jarman. "She remembers some details."
Eight-year-old DJ is the family's lone survivor of an accident Saturday that claimed the lives of her father, mother and 2-year-old sister.
The Cedar Valley family was on its way to Idaho on I-84 when a tire on the family's pickup truck blew, causing the vehicle to roll. Nicholas Weaver, 28, his 30-year-old wife, Ruth, and their 2-year-old daughter, Audrey, were killed. DJ was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center.
On Monday, DJ was upgraded from critical to serious condition, and she was expected to be moved out of the intensive care unit.
"She is breathing on her own," Jarman said.
If all goes well, doctors estimate DJ could be released in two weeks. The hope is she can make a full recovery so she can at some point return to her passion of horseback riding. Until then, Jarman said DJ's large extended family has relied on each other to help get through the tragedy.
"We love them, and they were loved by a lot of people," Mary Jarman, Ruth's sister, said of the family members who were killed. "(Nicholas) always had a grand sense of humor. His children were his heroes."
Cynthia Connin, a close friend and neighbor of Ruth Weaver, said DJ will have plenty of family support.
"There's no lack of love for DJ there," Connin said. "There's plenty, plenty."
DJ was over nearly every day at Connin's house in White Hills to play with 8-year-old Aspen and 5-year-old Summer.
"They loved dress-up, just regular girl stuff," Connin said. "(They would) play school, and DJ was big into horses lately and because of them we started riding horses. They would wash the car, play in the water. Everything's fun (when you're 8)."
DJ is good friends with both girls, Connin said. Two years ago, when DJ was in half-day kindergarten and Aspen was in first grade, DJ would come home and play with Summer.
And for DJ's most recent birthday, she, Aspen, Summer and two other friends went to a local beauty shop to get their hair and nails done.
"DJ had the prettiest hair-do," Connin said.
The Connin family is planning a trip today to the hospital to visit DJ.
"Even at that age, it's just kind of hard to understand," Connin said. "The first thing that Summer said when I told them was, 'So they died like Mike?' It's a little too much."
Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Mike Penovich was also from the small subdivision of White Hills, which has about 400 people nestled between Cedar Fort and Fairfield. He was killed July 5 when his truck veered off the road into Deer Creek Reservoir.
Police still aren't sure what caused the crash, but listed the cause of death as drowning.
"It's just way too much," Connin said. "I'm overwhelmed and shocked because Ruth was one of my best friends out here."
Connin got emotional as she described how Ruth Weaver was a good listener, open minded and non-judgmental.
"They're so kind," she said. "Such good people. They're just too good. That's all there is to it."
Nicholas Weaver worked with a couple of Internet service providers. Ruth Weaver stayed at home, where she took care of not only the children, but also several horses they kept at a friend's pasture.
The Utah Highway Patrol Monday was still investigating what caused the tire on the Weavers' truck to blow out.
Funerals for the Weavers were expected to be held Friday at the Cedar Fort Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although Tim Jarman said final details were still being worked out. A fund to help DJ has been set up at all Wells Fargo banks.
Jarman said it is still being determined where DJ will live after she is released from the hospital.
"She will be loved," he said, "and well taken care of."
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com; sisraelsen@desnews.com