“She had been saying she knew she was getting old, her time was coming soon,” a family member said of deceased victim Ruth Acuña de Valenzuela

A grandmother was killed while she and relatives were changing a tire.

Ruth Acuña de Valenzuela, 82, died after being hit by a suspected drunken driver on an Arizona freeway, according to local news outlet AZ Family.

Two of her relatives sustained critical injuries in a three-vehicle collision on U.S. Route 60 in Mesa on Sept. 16 around 1 a.m., according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS). The preliminary investigation found that a driver pulled over on the right emergency shoulder after their vehicle sustained a tire failure. Family members arrived to help with the tire change.

“After completing the tire change, the family was preparing to leave when a vehicle collided with the two vehicles stopped on the shoulder,” the AZDPS said.

The two critically injured people were transported to a hospital.

Authorities identified the driver who collided with the stopped vehicles as 21-year-old Zachary Robert Penrod, who was allegedly impaired.

Penrod was arrested at the scene and booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Jail. He faces one count of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of endangerment.

The collision is currently under investigation.

Javier Valenzuela told the outlet that his cousin and his grandmother Ruth were driving home from dinner when they pulled over because of the flat tire.

“They’re really close, they were really close, so he was always taking her everywhere,” he said.

His aunt and uncle arrived to help change the tire and they planned on taking Ruth home, since the cousin was driving on a spare.

Javier said Penrod first hit the car that had his grandmother, aunt and uncle. After the collision, his cousin left his vehicle to check on his injured family members.

“My cousin got out and checked on them; he saw everything,” he said. “He’s traumatized. How could you not be?”

Javier claimed that his aunt and uncle have undergone multiple surgeries, while his cousin suffered a broken collarbone.

As for Ruth, he shared, “She had been saying she knew she was getting old, her time was coming soon, but it’s really unfair that someone had to go like this.”

Alma Rosa Valenzuela, who identified herself as Ruth’s daughter, paid tribute in an emotional Facebook post.

“My God, you have left me devastated. Now who am I going to call… I will always love and remember you with all my love… rest in peace, mother,” she wrote.

A GoFundMe has been created by Javier to support the family.

“In an instant, our world changed completely,” he wrote in the description.

Source: https://people.com/grandma-killed-2-relatives-injured-by-suspected-drunken-driver-while-changing-tire-mesa-arizona-12130216