Tragedy struck close to the University of Arizona campus late last week when three students were killed in a hit-and-run incident involving a suspected impaired driver. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, the crash occurred around 11 p.m. on October 30 at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Second Street. The Tucson Police Department reported the students were crossing the street within a marked crosswalk when they were struck.
The deceased were identified as 21-year-old Sophia Troetel and 22-year-old Josiah Santos, pronounced dead at the scene, and 21-year-old Katya Castillo Mendoza, who succumbed to her injuries two days later in the hospital. The driver of the 2019 Porsche Boxster involved in the crash took off before first responders arrived. The police launched a manhunt for the suspect shortly afterwards.
In developments that followed, 19-year-old Louis John Artal turned himself in to authorities on the morning of October 31. Tucson Police, alongside officials from the University of Arizona Police Department and Tucson Fire Department, worked in collaboration to respond to the incident and the subsequent investigation. Artal was found to be impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the collision, a finding made by an officer from Tucson Police's Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit. As reported by 12 News, he faces three counts of second-degree murder and one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
Tucson police cited impairment, speeding, and failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk as the main contributing factors of the tragic event. The Tucson community has been left reeling by the loss, with the mayor expressing deep condolences. "My family and I want to extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of University of Arizona students Sophia Akimi Troetel, Josiah Patrick Santos, and Katya Castillo-Mendoza during this difficult time," the mayor said, in a statement obtained by 12 News. The incident continues to be under investigation by Tucson police as the affected families and the university community begin to navigate the complex road of grief and justice.
