Left inset: Turatsinze Gadi (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: The 6-year-old girl that Turatsinze Gadi allegedly killed in a crash on Sunday night in Phoenix, Ariz. (GoFundMe). Background: The Toyota Corolla that Turatsinze Gadi allegedly slammed into with his Toyota Tundra pickup truck (KTVK/YouTube).
An Arizona man who was allegedly drinking and getting stoned while celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday slammed his pickup truck into a Toyota Corolla with multiple children inside, killing a 6-year-old and injuring her 2-year-old sister, cops say.
Turatsinze Gadi, 21, of Phoenix, tried telling police investigators that he was brake checked before the deadly crash, which was proven to be false, according to local TV station KTVK, which cites information provided by Maricopa County and state officials.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) says troopers responded to the crash scene just before 8 p.m. last Sunday and found the mangled Corolla sedan with five people inside, including the 6-year-old victim and her 2-year-old sister, who was injured and hospitalized.
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A GoFundMe launched to support the children’s mother says, “Her family is now facing the unimaginable: saying goodbye to their precious baby girl while her sister remains in the ICU fighting to recover,” the fundraiser says.
Gadi was arrested after allegedly ditching the Toyota Tundra he was driving at a nearby QuikTrip, KTVK reports. He told cops that he was in shock and didn’t know what else to do, according to DPS officials.
Gadi allegedly drank beer and tequila while celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday on Sunday night and also smoked marijuana, per KTVK. Despite blowing a .219 during his BAC test, Gadi tried claiming he was only a “three or four” on a scale out of 10 for how intoxicated he felt, according to DPS officials. He was allegedly clocked at 105 mph and seen swerving in and out of traffic.
“I’m sorry,” Gadi reportedly said Monday during his first court appearance for charges of second-degree murder, endangerment, aggravated assault, and failure to stay at the scene of an accident involving death.
“I’m so sorry,” he repeated.
A judge ordered Gadi held on a $500,000 bond and he was still behind bars Thursday.
