A California mother is calling for justice as the speeding driver who killed her daughter has yet to face charges.
Ariana Ayala, 19, was the passenger in a vehicle that crashed into a parked car and then a fence in Sacramento on April 29.
Security camera footage shared with CBS 13 showed the vehicle barreling down the street sideways before the crash.
Sacramento police confirmed the driver was a 19-year-old male friend of Ayala’s who has not been charged.
Ayala’s mother, Betsy Lopez, is outraged that the driver has not been brought to justice and believes the footage shows he was driving recklessly.
‘I need answers, and it feels, as her mom, I’m not getting those answers. I don’t want my daughter’s life to be swept under the rug. Her life mattered,’ Lopez said.
She said the footage infuriated her and left her with more questions about the circumstances leading up to the crash.
‘I was very angry. I was confused as to why. Why was she in the car? I always wonder, and I’m probably never gonna get the answer to this,’ Lopez added.
‘What were her last moments like? Was she scared? Was she yelling? Was she saying anything to him at all?’
Ayala was a student at Sacramento City College who wanted to major in biology, according to her mother.
She also ran a flower business and sold extravagant bouquets on her social media accounts.
‘She was a happy kid. She was very, very loved. She’s missed a lot,’ Lopez said.
Lopez wants the driver charged so it sends a message to others that they cannot drive recklessly.
‘It’s not worth it. There are a lot of things that’re gonna come after, God forbid, anything like this happens again,’ she said.
But they need to understand that this is not a game. This is serious. You’re putting other people’s lives at risk, and it’s not fair.’
It is unclear why the driver has not been charged. The Sacramento Police Department told the local news station that the case was still under investigation and they could not comment on the matter.
The Daily Mail contacted Lopez, the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office for comment.
