Two college freshmen from Clarkston killed in wrong-way crash in Arizona; man arrested

A man was booked into an Arizona jail Monday on suspicion of killing two college freshmen from Clarkston in a wrong-way crash, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Vincent Ian Acosta, 25, of Laveen, Arizona, was booked on three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and 11 counts of endangerment. He remains in the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix on $1 million bond.

Abriauna Brook Hoffman and Magdalyn Louise Ogden, two 18-year-olds from Clarkston, were killed on Oct. 10 when their Honda sedan collided with Acosta’s Toyota SUV at about 3:50 a.m. on Interstate 17, about 30 minutes north of Phoenix, according to a release from Arizona’s Department of Public Safety.

According to the release, Acosta was southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 17 when he crashed into their vehicle and two others.

A third occupant in the Honda, Hunter Elaine Kinohi Balberdi, 19, of Kula, Hawaii, was also killed. All three women were freshmen at Grand Canyon University, a Christian school in Phoenix, and lived together in on-campus housing, according to a Facebook post from the school.

Balberdi and Ogden were pronounced dead at the scene, but Hoffman, who was driving, was taken to a hospital where she later died, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety said.

Acosta was also transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Authorities suspected impairment was involved in the crash.

The drivers of the two other vehicles involved in the crash had minor injuries.