A trip home from the Grand Canyon turned deadly when a wrong-way driver crashed into a vehicle on Interstate 10 earlier this month.
The names of the victims, both 19-year-old women, and the suspect, a 30-year-old man, were made public Tuesday.
Sabrina Jensen was with her boyfriend Noah van Goa and friend Danielle Fletcher on June 17, driving home to California, according to Jensen’s mother, Sandra Ruffini.
“Someone put it best when they said to me, ‘Sabrina was living as if she knew she had one year to live,’” Ruffini said.
Jensen, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Fletcher, of Haleiwa, Hawaii, were killed in the crash, while van Goa is recovering at a hospital.
Daniel Porter, of Phoenix, was driving the wrong way in the westbound lanes of I-10 when he crashed into the group near Tonopah, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
“[Sabrina and Danielle] are gone because of this man’s inconsiderate decisions, foolish decisions,” Ruffini said.
Porter was also killed.
His car had sped away at 100 m.p.h. from a separate collision 45 minutes before the wrong-way crash, witnesses told police.
Porter has twice been charged with DUI in Arizona; both charges were dismissed. The reasons for the dismissal were not available Tuesday night.
Authorities are investigating whether Porter was impaired the night of the crash.
Porter’s family declined to comment Tuesday night.
Ruffini said the fact that her daughter lived a full life gave her some peace.
Jensen spent much of the last year traveling the world, her Facebook page showed. She picked chestnuts in Italy, explored ice formations in Canada, and spent time with family in California. Mom wanted to be with Sabrina when she finally made it home.
"I'm flying out Thursday to go pick up Sabrina's ashes,” Ruffini said. “I didn't want her being mailed, I just had to go bring her myself."
