Colusa County Town Mourns Mother, 2 Daughters Killed In Wrong-Way Driver Crash
ARBUCKLE (CBS13) – In pictures, Sofia Ramirez and her two teenage daughters are either smiling or goofing around - qualities their friends cherish now that the three are gone, killed by a wrong-way driver.
"I'm speechless. They were so nice, they were [the] best people you could ever meet," said friend Cynthia Dorantes.
Good friends gathered at the sisters' high school in Arbuckle, a small town near Woodland where Alyssa Santiago was a cheerleader. Her little sister Brenda just celebrated her 15th birthday with a big quinceañera.
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"Alyssa was in high school and had a whole 'nother year. Brenda a freshman and had four years of high school to go to," said friend Colby Bates. "Both of them wanted to go to college."
But officers say the family couldn't escape the path of an out-of-control driver going the wrong-way on Interstate 505 Saturday night.
Even a California Highway Patrol officer reportedly spotted the suspect – but it was too late.
"He saw it and immediately tried to follow the guy in the vehicle," said Woodland CHP spokesman Pedro Leon.
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Connie Colsa plans to visit the girls' stepdad, the only survivor of the crash. For now, she's helping out at the Umpqua Bank in Arbuckle, where folks are dropping off donations to pay for funeral expenses.
"I just can't even imagine. I can't imagine his pain right now," Colsa said.
As of Sunday night, a GoFundMe page for the three killed has raised upwards of $9,000.