Man sentenced for crash that killed 3 women, 2 from Washington state

The person who killed three women while driving drunk in Arizona will serve 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of second-degree murder, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Two of the women were from the eastern Washington town of Clarkston.

The women, Abriauna Hoffman and Magdalyn “Maggie” Ogden, both 18-year-olds from Clarkston, and their Grand Canyon University suitemate Hunter Balberdi, 19, of Wailuku, Hawaii, died on Oct. 10, 2022.

The group had been on their way to watch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon for Ogden’s birthday when they were struck by Vincent Ian Acosta’s SUV near Table Mesa Road north of Phoenix, Arizona, according to previous reports from the Lewiston Tribune. Acosta was driving the wrong way and struck several vehicles.

Two of the women were pronounced dead at the scene, and another later died at a Phoenix-area hospital, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Acosta’s blood alcohol level was over the legal limit, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

The sentence was handed down Friday by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers in Arizona after the original judge, Pamela Dunne, recused herself months earlier after reading more than 200 pages of letters from family and friends of the victims.

Dunne said at a status hearing Sept. 26, 2024, that she was no longer willing to accept Acosta’s plea agreement, which she said no longer felt was adequate. The plea deal remained in effect with Myers.

Maggie Ogden’s mother, Samantha Ogden, said Myers also commented on how moving he found the letters from family and friends of the victims, including many from Clarkston.

“We are so appreciative that so many people took the time and effort to write,” Samantha Ogden wrote. “The impact of the death of these girls is so much further than just our families. Our whole community was hit with many tragedies the fall of 2022. No one could be unaffected.”

She said she was relieved to not have to spend any more time in court.

“It was heart-wrenching, reliving the lives of our girls. It was very difficult to hear from (Acosta’s) family and him,” she said. “He has lots of days ahead to focus on what he has done and what he can do.”

Acosta’s attorney, Eric Crocker, said the accident was a tragedy, and that his client was extremely remorseful for the pain he had caused. 

Despite frustrations from families of the victims at how long the sentencing took, Crocker said Acosta decided to take responsibility early on.

“My client was extremely remorseful with this case and wanted to get it over with … It was his decision to take the plea. I thought we could have worked on it a little more,” Crocker said. “He thought it was important.”

Samantha Ogden also said she believes Arizona needs better protections against wrong-way drivers.

“The highways in Arizona continue to frequently have wrong-way drivers,” she wrote. “(Acosta) drove for 15 miles the wrong way, endangering many lives, harming a few and killing three girls.”