A UNM spokesperson confirmed that Briana Hillard, a senior in business administration and a sister in the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and Matthew Grant, a junior in criminology and a former member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, died after the car they were driving in was T-boned near the intersection of Rio Grande Boulevard and Bellemah Avenue.
Two other students were in the car, according to police. Julia Thompson, a junior speech and hearing sciences major and fellow Pi Beta Phi sister, and Joe Mendoza, a junior journalism and communication major, were both still in the hospital in critical condition as of Saturday night.
Dean of Students Tomas Aguirre spent much of Saturday at the hospital with the families, and contacted President Bob Frank, who was with the Lobo basketball team in Rico, according to a UNM spokesperson. Director of Student Activities Debbie Morris and her team are currently working with the sorority to offer grief counseling, the spokesperson said.
Christina Bilderback, a senior biology major and Hillard’s roommate, said she is heartbroken at the loss of her friend, and offers condolences to all the families involved.
“Bri was the most positive person that may have ever lived,” Bilderback said. “She never had a negative thing to say or to feel or to think throughout her entire 21 years. She loved everyone, she loved UNM, she loved Pi Phi, she loved life.”
The driver of the other car was 21-year-old Joshua Leal, who is currently being held at Bernalillo County Metro Detention Center on a $750,000 cash/surety bond. He is being charged with four counts of vehicular homicide, child abuse, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, larceny of a firearm, and tampering with evidence.
In a news release Saturday, APD spokesman Fred Duran said Leal was driving a stolen truck when he crashed into the other vehicle, flipping it over. Leal and his passenger, 16-year-old Miguel Hernandez, then tried to flee the scene and were later arrested. A stolen gun was found in the truck.
A police spokesperson said a witness saw the truck “driving aggressively” in the area, and said that Leal was completely at fault in the accident.
Hillard died at the scene, and Grant was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the APD spokesman.
Bilderback said she was disgusted to learn that the two suspects tried to run from the scene of the accident, leaving Grant and her friend Hillard to die.
“It’s just insane to me that we lost two incredible lives due to someone just wanting a truck,” Bilderback said. “We lost so much due to something so little.”
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Bilderback said she saw Thompson and Mendoza in the hospital Saturday night.
“They’re both stable as of now. They’re very much still injured, so it’s going to be a while until they’re fully functioning,” she said.
A memorial for the deceased is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, but a funeral service for Hillard is being postponed until Thompson and Mendoza are well enough to attend, Bilderback said.
In a post on Pi Beta Phi’s national Facebook page, the sorority said it was devastated by the events.
“Please keep their families, sisters and friends in your thoughts and prayers as they begin to cope with such horrific circumstances,” the post read.
Jonathan Baca is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com, or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
