A UCLA teen who dreamed of becoming a lawyer was among the three young lives cut short in a horrific head-on crash in Northern California.
19-year-old Abigail Tinoco was killed alongside Sebastian Burgos, 18, and Noah Trevino, 18, just outside Salinas at around 9:04 p.m. Sunday night.
Two vehicles crashed into each other on Abbott Street, between US-101 and Harris Road, leading to a road closure, according to the California Highway Patrol.
“I don’t even know how to write this, because Abby is someone we are supposed to still be talking about in the present tense,” Tinoco’s sister wrote in a GoFundMe.
“If you knew Abby, you knew she was always doing something. She was this tiny little human being, but oh my, was she determined. If she wanted something, she worked until she got it. It honestly felt like she never got tired,” her sister continued on.
The 19-year-old graduated from Downey High School as salutatorian and was a track and cross country athlete. As a sophomore pre-law student at UCLA, she was a youth president at her church and was completing her last weekend at her CNA program.
Burgos –– also a Downey resident and college student –– had started his first quarter at UC Santa Cruz as a biology major and wanted a career in veterinary.
“His early departure from us has left us broken. Sebastian is survived by our 13 year old brother, Jose, our parents, myself, as well as the rest of our family and friends who loved Sebastian as much as we did,” his brother wrote in a fundraiser.
A GoFundMe was also created for Trevino to “help ease the financial burden that can come with an emergency like this.” Noah’s brother, Nathan, was also injured in the crash.
All three fundraisers have reached over $10,000 as the main cause of the crash is still unknown.
The accident involved a black Nissan Altima and a white Honda CR-V. At least three people were in each car and three people who survived the crash were sent to a local hospital.
According to KSBW 8, six ambulances and several CHP vehicles arrived at the emergency room at Natividad Medical Center.
