Khrystyna Gavryushenko in 2013 at the Youth Aviation Academy at the Camarillo Airport.
An Oxnard High School graduate from Crimea was killed Tuesday in a six-car accident in Prescott, Arizona, authorities said.
Khrystyna Gavryushenko, 19, was identified by Prescott police as the victim of Tuesday morning’s crash. Gavryushenko, a 2014 graduate of Oxnard High, was a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott.
Embry-Riddle officials said she was entering her sophomore year and majoring in aviation business administration.
Investigators said the car driven by Gavryushenko collided with another vehicle traveling in the same direction in an adjacent lane. The two cars veered into oncoming traffic, with Gavryushenko’s vehicle colliding head-on with a sedan and then getting hit by a pickup.
Police said Gavryushenko was pronounced dead at the scene.
The drivers of two other vehicles were taken to different hospitals for treatment of serious injuries.
Police believe excessive speed may have played a role in the crash.
Gavryushenko was born in the Crimean city of Yalta, and she and her mother moved to the United States in 2009, according to a Web page she developed before college. She wrote that her goal was to become a commercial airline pilot, and she attended the Youth Aviation Academy at the Camarillo Airport in summer 2013.
Gavryushenko played junior varsity volleyball for Oxnard High in her freshman and sophomore years, but after realizing she wasn’t going to be a starter on the team, she decided to quit to focus on her studies, said Pat Casey, Oxnard’s volleyball team coach.
Casey said Gavryushenko was a “smart, nice young woman” and a “good athlete.”
He repeated those sentiments to students in his freshman English class last year when Gavryushenko visited her alma mater to say hello to some former teachers. During the visit, Casey joked that Gavryushenko was probably the most popular person at Embry-Riddle by then, he said
“She was very well-liked,” Casey said.
At Embry-Riddle, Gavryushenko was president of an archery club and a member of the Air Line Pilots Association’s collegiate club, the university said in a news release on its website.
“Khrystyna was a bright student and a very popular young lady on campus,” Dean of Students Larry Stephan said in the release. “Her tragic accident is a tremendous loss to our students and our faculty and staff who knew and respected Khrystyna. Our deepest sympathy goes out to her family and friends.”
Embry-Riddle is planning a campus memorial service, the release said.
Source: http://www.vcstar.com
On Tuesday August 25th, 2015 at approximately 0730 Prescott Police Officers and emergency medical personnel responded to the 2500 block of Willow Creek Road for a report of a collision involving several vehicles.
Officers learned that a total of six vehicles were involved in the accident. Based on witness statements and evidence on scene, investigators determined that a Mazda Sedan, driven by 19 year old Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Student Khrystyna Gavryushenko of California was traveling northbound on Willow Creek Road when it collided with a Volkswagen Jetta traveling in the same direction in the adjacent lane. As they collided, both vehicles entered into the oncoming (southbound) lanes of traffic. Gavryushenko’s vehicle collided head on with a white Honda Sedan driven by a 28-year-old Prescott man. He sustained serious injuries and was flown from the scene to a Flagstaff hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.
[Editor's note: According to verified information, the victim flown to the Flagstaff hospital is a Prescott High School teacher. He has a severely broken leg, but no life-threatening injuries. It was expected that he will need surgery today.]
Gavryushenko’s vehicle was then struck on the driver’s side by a Chevy pick-up truck. The driver of the pick-up truck was transported to Yavapai Regional Medical Center West in Prescott with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. His current condition is unknown.
Unfortunately, Gavryushenko sustained major injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene as a result of the collision.
Related: Embry-Riddle Prescott Mourns Loss Of Student Following Accident
After the initial impact, the Jetta continued to travel northbound in opposing traffic, striking several other vehicles in the roadway. None of the drivers or occupants of the other vehicles sustained major injuries that were reported at the time.
Willow Creek Road was closed in both directions immediately following the crash while the incident is under investigation. At this time the roadway remains closed and will be closed for at least several more hours.
Members of the Prescott Police Department Traffic Safety Section are investigating the collision and will study the scene and the evidence to determine the cause and contributing factors of the collision. However at this time, it is believed that excessive speed may have played a role in the cause and severity of the crash.
Source: http://www.prescottenews.com
