Arizona driver sentenced in wrong-way crash that killed Maui woman, 2 others

PHOENIX (AZFamily/HawaiiNewsNow) – An Arizona man who pleaded guilty in a 2022 wrong-way crash that killed three people, including a Maui woman, has been sentenced.

Vincent Ian Acosta, 27, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, with credit for time served, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

The crash happened just before 4 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2022, when Acosta hit three other vehicles while driving the wrong way in the northbound lanes of Interstate 17 near New River.

Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. They were later identified as:

• Hunter Balberdi, 19, from Wailuku, HI
• Abriauna Hoffman, 18, from Clarkston, WA
• Magdalyn (Maggie) Ogden, 18, from Clarkston, WA

According to court documents obtained by Hawaii News Now’s sister station, Arizona’s Family, Acosta’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.129. The legal BAC in Arizona is 0.08.

Balberdi was a 19-year-old Baldwin High School graduate and pre-med student at Grand Canyon University. Hoffman and Ogden were her roommates.

Acosta pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder last August.

His plea deal detailed a potential sentence between 18 and 22 years in prison on each charge, which are to be served simultaneously.

His license must also be revoked, AZ Family reported.

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