A 19-year-old Squalicum High School graduate who was working with her family to raise money for a dream trip to Florida was killed after police say an alleged drunk driver left the roadway and struck her in Sedro-Woolley on the Fourth of July.
Anahi Rose Mendoza died after she was hit while selling fireworks near the intersection of Highway 20 and Township Street, according to the Sedro-Woolley Police Department.
She had recently graduated from Squalicum High School and was preparing to begin classes this fall at Bellingham Technical College, where she planned to study radiation technology before ultimately becoming an ultrasound technician, according to a GoFundMe campaign created by her uncle.
Police said officers were dispatched to the scene at about 2:04 p.m. on July 4 after receiving reports of a vehicle striking a pedestrian.
Investigators determined a vehicle traveling west on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed left the roadway and struck Mendoza, who was waving a sign and directing traffic for her family’s fireworks stand, police said.
Despite lifesaving efforts by witnesses and first responders, Mendoza died from her injuries at the scene.
The driver fled the scene but later returned to the area, according to police. Witnesses helped identify both the suspect and the vehicle, and officers located both near Highway 20 and Ball Street.
The suspect was booked into the Skagit County Jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, and driving with a suspended license.
Police said the suspect has a criminal history spanning multiple states and 17 felony convictions in Washington, including convictions for vehicular assault, attempting to elude police, robbery, theft, forgery and attempted second-degree assault.
‘Our family’s world was shattered’
Mendoza’s uncle, Chris Neustedt, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help support her grieving family with funeral expenses and other immediate needs.
“Yesterday, on the 4th of July, our family’s world was shattered in an instant,” Neustedt wrote. “Our beautiful, vibrant 19-year-old niece was tragically taken from us by a drunk driver.”
Neustedt said Mendoza was selling fireworks alongside her family and her boyfriend, Carlos, to help pay for her first trip across the country.
“She was doing what she always did—being the backbone of her family, working hard, and looking forward to the future,” he wrote. “She, her boyfriend Carlos, and her family were together selling fireworks to fund her first big dream trip across the country to Florida.”
“In a moment of pure horror, a drunk driver struck and killed her right in front of the people who loved her most,” he continued. “We are entirely devastated. Our family is torn apart, lost, and completely broken without her.”
According to the fundraiser, all proceeds will go directly to Mendoza’s mother, Bethany, and her younger brother, Lenin, to help cover funeral and burial expenses, memorial costs and immediate financial support while the family grieves.
A life filled with big dreams
Neustedt described his niece as someone who always put others before herself.
“My niece was only 19, but she was already a pillar of strength and love for everyone around her,” he wrote.
He said Mendoza dreamed of becoming a radiation technician before eventually working as an ultrasound technician.
Beyond school and work, he said she loved makeup, nails, perfume and collecting Coach purses. Pink was her favorite color, and she took great pride in her Guatemalan heritage.
“Above all, she loved her family fiercely,” Neustedt wrote. “She was the bedrock of her household, always there to help her mother with absolutely anything.”
He also described Mendoza’s relationship with her high school sweetheart, Carlos, and said she was “the most devoted aunt” to her young nephew, Ruari.
Mother shares heartbreak
On Monday, Mendoza’s mother posted an emotional update thanking supporters who had donated to the fundraiser.
“Words cannot describe what I am feeling,” Bethany Mendoza wrote. “Anahi was the kindest, most caring, most amazing young woman and it was truly an honor to be her mother.”
She called her daughter her best friend.
“She was my best friend and I don’t know how to live in a world she is not in,” Mendoza wrote. “My heart is broken and our home and our families will never be the same.”
Those interested in supporting the family can donate via GoFundMe here.
