Wrong-way driver sentenced for Arizona crash that killed 3 college students

PHOENIX — The driver who pleaded guilty to causing the 2022 crash that killed three Grand Canyon University students has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.                            

Vincent Ian Acosta, 27, was sentenced Friday after he pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder in connection to a deadly crash reported on Oct. 10, 2022 along Interstate 17 near Table Mesa Road in New River.     

Acosta’s sentencing had been delayed after the judge rescued herself due to objections over the sentencing provisions reached in the plea agreement.                    

At the time of Acosta’s arrest, the driver’s blood test results indicated he may have been impaired at the time of the crash, court records show.                                    

Three freshman college students were killed in the wrong-way collision. GCU identified them as Abriauna Hoffman, 18, Elaine Hunter Balberdi, 19, and Magdalyn (Maggie) Ogden, 18.

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