TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The families of three University of Arizona students killed in a hit and run incident, are suing the alleged driver, and the City of Tucson.
Sophia Troetel, Josiah Santos and Katya Castillo-Mendoza died the night of October 30, 2025, when a driver hit them as they tried to cross Euclid and Second Street.
The driver, Louis Artal is charged with hitting the students, then leaving the scene. Artal was 19 at the time. He was also a student at U of A. He is facing criminal charges in the deaths.
The civil lawsuit is asking for monetary damages against Artal, but it’s also suing the City of Tucson.
It claims the City knew the crosswalk at Euclid and Second was in a dangerous location near bars that often led to people drinking and driving. It goes on to claim the city received repeated warnings about the dangers of the crosswalk and delayed installing warning lights designed to make pedestrian crossings safer.
The lawsuit does not mention specific dollar amounts but it asks for expenses associated with the deaths of the students plus punitive damages.
——-
Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
