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Victim's family expresses relief after arrest made in deadly Glendale crash
FOX 10's Justin Lum speaks to the family of Kiyvon Martin, who died in a deadly crash in August. An arrest has been made nearly four months after the collision.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - An accused red-light runner is now in custody after he reportedly caused a crash in Glendale that killed three people back in August, police said.
Officials say the collision happened on Aug. 25 after a Tesla sped through a red light on 83rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road, slamming into a car carrying two young women and a man.
The victims were identified as Ariyanna Parsad, 18, Jazmine Marquez, 19, and Kiyvon Martin, 18. Marquez died at the scene and the other two succumbed to their injuries at the hospital, police said on Dec. 29.
The driver of the Tesla, 22-year-old Carlos Gonzalez, was seriously injured in the collision but survived. An investigation revealed that he had been under the influence of THC and was driving 82 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour zone at the time of the crash.
Gonzalez, who turned himself in, now faces three counts of second-degree murder. His bond has been set at $250,000.
Glendale Police released the following statement on why the arrest happened four months after the crash:
We just recently got the [test] results back. It is very common in these type of vehicular crimes cases where the suspect has legal representation for us to work through that representation. In this case, we did, and he agreed to self-surrender.
If he had not, then we would have treated this as any person wanted for a crime or a fugitive. Due to the circumstances of this particular crime, this would’ve been a high priority. The safest way, though, is for someone to turn themselves in without incident.
Family members grieve
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Glendale deadly crash suspect turns himself in
Carlos Gonzalez, 22, is accused of running a red light and causing a crash in Glendale that left 3 people dead.
What does Kiyvon Martin's mother miss most about her son?
"Just him," Stephanie Groves said. "Just him, period. His smile."
His family wears his photo proudly on T-shirts. He was only 18 when he sat in the passenger seat of a Toyota RAV-4 with his girlfriend Ariyanna driving and her friend Jazmine in the back seat.
The two women died that day, and Kiyvon died a week later.
"[The suspect saw] his light was red, so he already knew what was right and what was wrong, and I don't think marijuana had any kind of factor to do with that," Groves said.
For Kiyvon's family, it's been a long wait for a step towards justice, but there are feelings of relief and confusion as to why an arrest was not made sooner.
The 18-year-old's aunt says the news comes on the day of her son's birthday.
"I think that was Kiyvon giving us healing right now, and give my son healing [because] the man is behind bars now," said aunt Tracy Bradford.
Stephanie's message to the community: Slow down.
"You can end someone's life by you speeding or not wanting to stop or not wanting to obey the traffic signals," Groves said. "The next time it might be someone you know."
Kiyvon Martin's GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/db148e2f
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(Related video) Family devastated after deadly crash in Glendale; investigation underway
On Sept. 5, two families continue to grieve and are trying to come up with the money to cover the costs of two funerals.
Ariyanna Parsad and Jazmine Marquez were best friends, according to their families, who were left devastated by the incident.
Family members say Parsad died at the hospital, and Marquez was sitting in the backseat when she died.
"They brought her back to life, and then when she got to the hospital, she went into cardiac arrest. They tried to do surgery, but she couldn’t handle it anymore," said Parsad's sister, Jasmine.
Jasmine said her late sister was just starting her life.
"She was always joking all the time. She was a giver," said Jasmine.
Parsad's boyfriend was also in the car during the crash, and he later died from his injuries. A puppy was also reportedly in the car, and it died as well, according to family.
"It was really hard, because me and her, me and my sister, we're very close, and everybody says we always look alike, and I always say that’s my twin. It felt like my heart was just being ripped out, especially knowing that she was completely innocent," said Jasmine.
GoFundMe for Ariyanna: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-put-ariyanna-to-rest
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GoFundMe for Jazmine: https://www.gofundme.com/f/jazmine-marquez-funeral-expenses
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Where the crash happened: