Teen Girl With “A Bright Future” Dies in Crash on Her Way Home From Boyfriend’s Graduation | “Worst Nightmare”

Her boyfriend, Gavin, and his sister, Landis, are currently hospitalized. Landis is in a coma due to a severe brain injury.

Cover Image Source: GoFundMe

By Shruti Menon

June 7, 2023

Posted June 7, 2023

A California teenager died in a crash while returning home from her boyfriend’s graduation. Giovanna Rizzo, 17, of Murrieta, was pronounced dead 20 minutes after the crash took place shortly before 9:00 p.m on Thursday, June 1, at the intersection of Winchester and Keller Roads according to a press release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO).

Officer Mike Lassig told CNS the wreck involved a Nissan Titan pickup going eastbound on Keller and a GMC Sierra pickup going northbound on Winchester. The vehicles were traveling at unconfirmed speeds when they entered the intersection, “which is controlled by traffic signals. The Sierra’s front end broadsided the passenger side of the Titan, causing major damage,” he said. “The Sierra rolled over after colliding with the Titan before coming to rest.” The 17-year-old was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Titan when the crash took place.

On their way home from graduation, a 17-year-old was killed and her boyfriend and his sister were hospitalized after their car was hit by a truck that ran a red light in Winchester. https://t.co/VPcpUoBXFO
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 3, 2023

The GMC Sierra pickup driver suffered major life-threatening injuries. The 18-year-old man driving the Titan was also seriously injured, along with a teenage girl sitting in the backseat. The family has now identified the two other victims, who were transported to a hospital with varying injuries, as Gavin Hooper, Rizzo’s boyfriend, and his sister, Landis Hooper, per CW affiliate KTLA.

Landis remains in the hospital with a severe brain injury. “She is in a coma with pain management and in the care of neurological surgeons who are testing her daily for neurological progress,” a GoFundMe page on behalf of the Hooper family reads. “The status is not day by day with an injury of this size – it is hour by hour.” Gavin “suffered cuts and bruises” on his body in addition to a fractured hand. “What has happened is unfathomable and every parent's worst nightmare,” the organizer wrote. “We are asking for prayers for Gavin’s girlfriend’s family and for Landis to be healed and be restored.”

A GoFundMe has also been set up for Rizzo where proceeds will go to the Kids Court & Counseling Center to support children who “experienced trauma” such as child abuse, sexual abuse, and other forms of violence. “They will receive free therapy and support from licensed therapists as part of Gia's legacy,” it said.

"Gia was many amazing things including but not limited to sweet, funny, fiercely loyal, 'wicked smart,' athletic, intelligent, loving, and she had a bright future. She shared her interest in social work and investigations to help others and assisted behind the scenes on a child abuse case doing research. Her future of helping others will continue," the fundraiser added.

Calif. Girl, 17, Dies in Crash Coming Home from Boyfriend's Graduation: 'She Had a Bright Future' https://t.co/pNqD1pm8DA
— People (@people) June 6, 2023