PEORIA, AZ — A community is coming together one year after a crash took the lives of five people in Peoria, including three young children.
“The holidays are very hard, especially the days leading up to the holidays,” said Sarah Harbeke.
Harbeke says it’s hard to describe the first year without her niece Evie and Evie’s dad Jace Hochstetler.
“I just gotta remember all the good times we had,” said Lynnette Jones, a close friend of Hochstetler’s.
Last November, Evie and her dad were in a car with Hochstetler’s new fiancé Elizabeth Simpson
Friends say also riding in the car that night were Simpson’s three children, Harley, Cash, and Cruz.
“The night that it happened they were at a Friendsgiving,” explained Harbeke.
Police say Simpson was turning onto 107th Avenue in Peoria near Deer Valley Road when her car was hit by another car.
“They were pushed down the street into the park,” said Harbeke.
The teen driver in that other car survived. Inside Simpson’s car, five people were killed. The only survivor was her youngest child, Cruz.
“I’ll never forget that day I saw the news come on,” said Harbeke.
She said ever since the crash it has never been the same. Harbeke’s sister, Evie’s mom, lost her child.
Four months after the crash, Peoria police arrested the 17-year-old driver. Investigators say they believe he was speeding and impaired at the time of the crash.
“You're still in shock every day, and you’re going to remember them every single day,” said Jones.
That’s what family and friends did one year later when they held a vigil near the crash site. The family tells ABC15 that first responders also showed up.
“The fact the Peoria first responders showed up... it warmed my heart,” said Harbeke. “There was 12 of them that came.”
A special bench marker was recently placed at the cemetery for Evie. The family is now raising funds, hoping to pay for Hochstetler’s ashes to be placed inside.
“To have them together for eternity, in my heart that's where they belong. Together,” said Jones.
Police told ABC15 the case is still moving through the courts and the teen driver is still in custody.
“All we can do from here is wait it out,” said Harbeke. “Let the court bring justice to our lives.”
The family leans on each other hoping one day to find some closure. Urging everyone to be safe on the roads this holiday season.
