An 18-year-old Pima Community College student and talented mariachi singer who was killed in a car crash in February was legally drunk and had traces of cocaine in her system, an autopsy report showed.
Elisa Gastellum was killed in a two-vehicle crash at about 11 p.m. Feb. 24 on North Greasewood Road, near West Speedway. Her car crossed the center line and struck another vehicle, injuring the other driver, whose name was not released.
Police have also confirmed that Gastellum was going 68 mph — nearly twice the posted 35-mph speed limit, said Officer Frank Amado, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
A Pima County Medical Examiner's Office autopsy report obtained by the Arizona Daily Star Wednesday showed that Gastellum's blood-alcohol content was 0.08 percent. Someone with that level or higher is considered legally impaired in Arizona.
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If Gastellum were alive, she would have been punished, and she would have been forgiven, her mother said Wednesday.
"If she was alive, we would have sat her butt down and her father and I would have let her know the trouble she was in, and how much she hurt us," her mother, Terri Gastellum, said in an interview Wednesday.
"But we don't have her here to tell her," said the grieving woman. She and her husband, Bobby; son, Xavier; and daughter, Marisol Delsi, are in a world of renewed pain.
"We are not with our children 24 hours a day. We teach them what is right and what is wrong. Elisa knew that.
"But he who is without sin can cast the first stone. We are all sinners and I know my daughter wasn't perfect," said Terri Gastellum. "I will never know what happened," she said, her voice trailing off.
The mother said Elisa's poor judgment does not negate the good she did in her short life. She said her daughter's death has brought many families closer.
"I thank God for his mercy, and I believe he has forgiven her and she is with him. I thank our family and friends for all their support," said Terri Gastellum, an elementary-school teacher.
She said she warned her daughter about the entertainment world and the temptations of drugs and alcohol in the music industry.
She said she also warned her about friendships — people who could pretend to be her friends but were not. She said she warned her about not being so trusting of others when she was asked to sing at parties.
Tucson police said Gastellum, who was driving her father's 2001 Honda Civic north on Greasewood, collided with a southbound car.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, which now is marked by a roadside shrine put up by family members and friends. The other driver, a 19-year-old woman, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Gastellum was a mariachi singer and worked in youth ministry. Her death touched several thousand mourners at her funeral and wake. Friends raised $900 with a car wash and are working to "adopt" Greasewood Road, between Anklam and Speedway, in her memory.
More than $5,000 has been raised for a memorial endowment by Las Cruces (N.M.) International Mariachi Conference that will be awarded in scholarships to aspiring mariachi students.
"I want her friends to think about the choices they make in life. Life is short. We are here on a journey. We never know how long we will be on earth. Don't take your life for granted. It is a gift from God," said Terri Gastellum.
"Think of your parents before you make decisions. They are the ones that will be here for you — through thick and thin. They are the ones that you disrespect, but we take it.
"All we want is for you to grow up and be good citizens and good people," said the mother.
