The families of the three University of Arizona students killed in a hit-and-run crash last year are suing the City of Tucson and the driver arrested in the crash.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed in late October alleges the city knew the crossing where the crash happened was unsafe well in advance and had the means to make it safer yet failed to do so. A notice of claim previously filed with the city in April sought $50 million for each of the three families, totaling $150 million.
Phoebe Gregory, president of the Charlies Darwin Experience, writes a message on the pole at the site where Sophia Troetel, Josiah Santos and Kayta Castillo-Mendoza were killed in a hit-and-run crash a year ago at East Second Street and North Euclid Avenue. Santos was a member of the CDE, an improv group, at the University of Arizona.
The crash happened about 11 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2025, when Sophia Akimi Troetel, Josiah Patrick Santos and Katya Rosaura Castillo-Mendoza were crossing North Euclid Avenue at East Second Street in a marked crosswalk.
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Troetel, 21, was working towards an undergraduate degree in Spanish and Psychology. Despite working as general manager of KAMP Student Radio and volunteering with the Pima County Attorney's Office, she managed to maintain a 4.0 grade point average.
Santos, Troetel's 22-year-old boyfriend, studied theatre. In addition to writing three plays at the UA, he performed in multiple Tucson community theatre productions. He soon planned to take Troetel to his hometown of Prescott to propose to her.
Castillo-Mendoza, Troetel's 21-year-old roommate and close friend, had plans to become a real estate lawyer.
All three were set to graduate in the spring of 2026.
But in an instant, their lives, and the lives of their families and friends, changed.
The three were struck by a 2019 Porsche Boxster traveling above the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour.
Troetel and Santos died at the scene. Castillo-Mendoza was taken to a local hospital with critical injuries and died the next day after being removed from life support.
The driver of the Porsche fled.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 31, a man who identified himself as Louis John Artal called 911 and turned himself in to a Tucson police station while still wearing jeans with dried blood, an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court says.
“I could immediately see that he had bloodshot watery eyes, his speech sounded slurred and I could smell the strong odor of intoxicants on his breath,” the arresting officer wrote in a statement of probable cause.
Artal was later indicted on three charges of manslaughter and one charge of leaving the scene of a fatal collision, all class two felonies.
'A hot spot of car crashes'
Since 2020, there have been 13 crashes involving pedestrians at the intersection of North Euclid Avenue and East Second Street, according to Tucson police data.
During the investigation, Artal told police there were "absolutely no streetlights," and he didn't see the three pedestrians until he hit them, a complaint filed in the civil lawsuit says.
A few days after the crash, a Tucson police lieutenant emailed a traffic engineer for the Tucson Department of Transportation & Mobility to ask if a High Intensity Activated Crosswalk Beacons light or other safety measure could be installed there, noting the intersection had been "hot spot of car crashes and many near misses" for over a decade.
But the intersection was already on the list to have a HAWK signal installed. It had been for years, the complaint says.
Jay Meschberger, left, comforts Emily Klein Friday near a street memorial for Sophia Troetel, Josiah Santos and Kayta Castillo-Mendoza who were killed in a hit-and-run crash a year ago.
On Oct. 26, 2022, a UA employee wrote to the Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility with safety concerns for pedestrians crossing North Euclid Avenue at East Second Street. She noted the lighting was inadequate at night and that vehicles would often fail to stop for pedestrians trying to cross, the complaint says.
About three weeks later, the employee heard back from the city, it continues. A traffic engineering technician supervisor told her the intersection had already been evaluated for its danger and was subsequently placed 12th on the priority list to have a HAWK signal installed.
In the years that followed, the city received multiple other requests from Tucsonans asking for the crossing to be updated to meet the heavy traffic flow on North Euclid Avenue and the high number of pedestrians who use the crosswalk, the complaint says.
A 2023 count done by the city showed about 28,000 vehicles and 800 pedestrians move through the intersection daily, the complaint says.
Several people stopped Friday at a small memorial on the anniversary of the hit-and-run crash that killed three University of Arizona students: Sophia Troetel; Josiah Santos; and Kayta Castillo-Mendoza.
The deaths prompted an outpouring of community concern regarding pedestrian safety. At a Tucson City Council meeting on Nov. 5, 2025, dozens of UA students and community members voiced their grief and frustration with the city for not acting sooner to protect pedestrian safety.
In mid-April, the city completed a TOUCAN (TwO groUps CAN cross) signal.
Unlike a HAWK, a TOUCAN signal accommodates both pedestrians and bicycles.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Tucson City Manager's Office said the city cannot discuss pending litigation.
The allegations in the civil case are independent of the criminal charges Artal is facing.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to avoid a conflict of interest stemming from Troetel's volunteer work.
Artal is set to face a three-week jury trial at the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County starting on Jan. 26, 2027.
Contact public safety reporter Griffin Salkowski at GSalkowski@tucson.com.
Griffin Salkowski
Public Safety Reporter
