Community Corner
Funeral Friday For Murrieta Woman Killed In Memorial Weekend Wreck
Marissa Garnica was a passenger in a 2012 Toyota Corolla destroyed in a head-on crash
MURRIETA, CA - A 20-year-old Murrieta woman killed along with three others in a Memorial Day weekend wreck near Desert Center will be laid to rest Friday in Murrieta.
Funeral services for Marissa Loren Garnica are scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Church of Latter Day Saints, 38980 Sky Canyon Drive.
Garnica was a passenger in a 2012 Toyota Corolla destroyed in a head-on crash that occurred about 3:45 p.m. on May 29 along state Route 177, roughly 19 miles north of Desert Center.
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Also killed were 20-year-old Gabrielle "Gabby" Constante of Murrieta, 21-year-old Jessica Giraldo of Murrieta and 30-year-old Matthew Hodges of Corona.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the foursome were returning from a holiday weekend visit to Parker, Ariz., going southbound on 177 when the crash happened.
Find out what's happening in Murrietafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Hodges was at the wheel, and witnesses told the CHP that he was trying to get around slower moving vehicles, like RVs and trucks, when he reportedly drove into oncoming traffic on the two-lane highway and plowed straight into a big rig, whose driver was not hurt.
A spokesman for the Garnica family, Wayne Eder, said they are anguished that "her life was needlessly cut short by a driver who showed no regard for his passengers' safety, which resulted in four deaths."
Two of the victims -- Constante and Hodges -- were girls' soccer coaches, and Garnica and Giraldo were players, according to published reports. All but Hodges died at the scene. He lived another two hours, succumbing to his injuries in the emergency room of Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
An obituary for Garnica described her as "selfless, kind and loving."
"She never judged, she truly listened to those around her and was always a source of comfort to those in need," according to the encomium, which is available here: http://murrietavalleyfuneralhome.com/book-of- memories/2948106/Garnica-Marissa/service-details.php .
A GoFundMe account has raised more than $31,000 for memorial costs as of Friday afternoon. Click here if you'd like to donate.
— By City News Service / Image via GoFundMe
