15-Year-Old Crash Victim Will Be Remembered For Her Smile

TAMPA, FL — One moment 15-year-old Zanyhia Arce of Tampa was smiling and happy, said her cousin, Abigail Gorsuch. The next moment she was dead in a tragic accident on the Gandy Bridge.

Gorsuch has started a GoFundMe campaign that has now raised $9,293 to help pay for funeral expenses for her cousin. The Kids Wish Network of Palm Harbor has also reached out to the family to help Zanyhia's grieving parents bury their daughter.

According to Tampa Police, Zanyhia was one of three passengers in a 2008 Infiniti Q35 driven by a 20-year-old man that ran out of gas while crossing east on the Gandy Bridge at 4:15 a.m. Thursday.

The driver pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road and got out. Zanyhia also got out of the passenger side of the car. The driver told police that's when he noticed what appeared to be a drunk driver in a 2021 Honda Accord swerving from side to side heading toward them. He said he attempted to warn Zanyhia and the other two passengers in his car just before the Honda Accord crashed into the Infiniti.

Zanyhia was killed in the crash. The driver of the Infiniti sustained serious injuries. A 20-year-old man seated in the rear passenger seat sustained a minor injury to his leg after it was pinned between the car and a guardrail. And a 17-year-old girl, also seated in the rear passenger seat, sustained minor injuries.

The driver of the Honda, 28-year-old Sebastian Gutierrez of Rivercrest Drive in Riverview, was charged with DUI manslaughter.

"We are all so extremely saddened by the sudden tragic loss of our sweet girl Zanyhia," Gorsuch said. "Any time I saw Zanyhia, she had a smile on her face. Watching her smile instantly put a smile on my face."

Gorsuch said her aunt and uncle, who have three other children, are devastated. She said she decided to start the GoFundMe campaign to help them pay for a memorial for their daughter and to allow them to take time away from work "to heal and make sense of all of this and be there for their three other children."

Gofundme is a Patch promotional partner.

See related story: 15-Year-Old Girl Dies In DUI Crash On Gandy Bridge