The University of Arizona community gathered on Nov. 6 to remember the four students who were tragically killed crossing Tucson streets.
Sophia Troetel, 21, Josiah Santos, 22 and Katya Castillo-Mendoza, 21, were killed in a hit and run at Euclid Avenue and Second Street on Oct. 30. The celebration also honored Peter Wanjohi, 19, who died on Oct. 26 after running through a crosswalk on South Kino Parkway.
The event, organized by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona and other student groups affiliated with the four students, was centered around the celebration of life and remembrance.
The event had hundreds of students, staff and community members gathered at Bear Down Field with candles and photos of the four students.
Various family members and close friends shared memories of the four including sharing moments of friendship, love and their positive impact on campus through their leadership and involvement in student organizations.
“The world feels dimmer without their light,” Andrea Hope Santos, Josiah Santos’s mother, said.
Troetel was the general manager of KAMP Student Radio. Santos was a member of Meow or Never, the male acapella group on campus, and the Charles Darwin experience, the UA improv troupe. Castillo-Mendoza was a member of UA Aspiring Latino Lawyers. Wanjohi was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu — a fraternity on campus.
“She just loved life. Everything she did was with 100% effort and 100% joy,” Troetel’s father said in a speech.
Four photos of the students were signed by attendees and were placed in the Carrenza Healing Garden where the Wildcats Forever Memorial plaque is located.
