Maui teen killed by wrong way driver on way to Grand Canyon
By Jeremy Lee
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HAWAII (KITV) — People from Hawaii to Arizona are mourning the loss of a young Maui woman who was going to college on the mainland.
19-year-old Hunter Kinohi Balberdi from Maui was one of three college students who died in a crash north of Phoenix.
The three teenagers were freshmen suitemates at Grand Canyon University, and had just started their freshman year.
Just before 4 a.m. on October 10, a driver was going the wrong way on an interstate highway north of Phoenix, according to The Arizona Public Safety Department.
Police say the wrong-way driver, who survived, was believed to have been impaired at the time he crashed into three vehicles.
Law enforcement has said the wrong-way driver was the only person inside the vehicle traveling south in the north bound lanes. The three students were on a three hour trip to the Grand Canyon, where classmates said they had planned to watch the sunrise.
The other victims were identified as two 18-year-old women from Clarkston, WA. A spokesperson told KITV4 Hunter Balberdi was a pre-med student studying biology.
Grand Canyon University is a private Christian university. The school issued a statement reading in part, “As the GCU family joins together to mourn the tragic loss of these students, we ask that you keep their families and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and know that God is always there for us.”
On social media hundreds of comments pouring in locally on the last photo that Hunter Balberdi posted. Many friends posted the words, “rest in love.”
On the mainland, fellow students at Grand Canyon University are also devastated.
Two friends, Ella and Sasha, say they stayed up late passing the time with the suitemates, before their three friends headed north on I-17 after 2 a.m. to try to see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon.
“Even when I said goodbye, the hug. They all hugged us really tight. It was really weird. Even when I said bye, I was like Ella, I love them so much.” Sasha said.
We heard from a woman who encountered the wrong-way driver on the road.
“He was like, ‘omg, omg, is that a wrong way driver?’ Sure enough I saw headlights coming right for us. My husband had to slam on the brakes, he went off the side of the road. To avoid getting hit because he was in the middle of the road,” she said.
Back on campus, Ella and Sasha say they were planning on rooming with their new friends.
“We did exactly what they did two weeks ago, we left at 2 in the morning to go see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon and that’s what they were going to do. Because we go on trips every weekend. It’s weird now,” Ella said.
“I don’t want to go on trips anymore,” they both said.
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