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The Maui News
An online fundraiser set up for the family of a 19-year-old Maui college student killed in an Arizona car crash had raised more than $28,000 as of Tuesday.
The GoFundMe campaign surpassed its $20,000 goal with more than 400 donors within a day of being posted in support of Hunter Elaine Kinohi Balberdi, a freshman pre-medicine biology major at Grand Canyon University.
Balberdi and her suitemates, 18-year-old fellow freshmen Abriauna Hoffman and Magdalyn Ogden of Clarkston, Wash., were killed when a driver going the wrong way on Interstate 17, roughly 30 miles north of Phoenix, crashed into their car and two other vehicles, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Two of the students died at the scene, while the third student died at the hospital.
Drivers in the two other cars that were struck did not suffer serious injuries, the Associated Press reported Monday. The suspected wrong-way driver was taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.
"This tragedy was such a shock to her family, the Maui community and her classmates at GCU," the GoFundMe page says. "A bright and positive life has been cut too short."
Funds raised will help cover the costs of airfare, funeral and memorial services, according to the page.
Gov. David Ige also extended his sympathies to the Balberdi family on Tuesday.
"My condolences to Deputy Sheriff Jonathan Balberdi who lost a daughter in a traffic crash in Arizona on Monday," Ige said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. "Ms. Elaine H. Balberdi was a promising student at Grand Canyon University at the time of the crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Balberdi 'Ohana and Elaine's friends during this very difficult time."