On Friday, October 28, 2022, 25-year-old Vincent Ian Acosta was booked into the Maricopa County Jail in connection to a wrong-way crash that killed three GCU students.
Acosta was charged with 3 counts of Second Degree Murder, 11 counts of Endangerment, and 2 counts of Aggravated Assault in the deaths of Abriauna Brook Hoffman, age 18 of Clarkston, Washington, Magdalyn Louise Ogden, age 18, of Clarkston, Washington, and Hunter Elaine Kinohi Balberdi, age 19, of Kula, Hawaii.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, on Monday, October 10, 2022, at approximately 3:51 a.m., the four-vehicle fatal collision occurred on northbound Interstate 17 (I-17) at milepost 236 (Table Mesa Road). Acosta. the driver of a Toyota SUV traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-17 struck a Honda sedan, Nissan sedan and a commercial vehicle.
Two of the students, passengers of the Honda sedan were declared deceased at the scene. The other student, the driver of the Honda sedan was transported to a Phoenix area hospital and later died from her injuries.
The sole occupant drivers of the Nissan sedan and commercial vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries.