CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Dante Brubeck was determined to make his dreams of becoming a nurse a reality. The 20-year-old graduated a year early from PPep Tech High School as valedictorian of his class in 2018 in Casa Grande.
"Dante was an outstanding young man in the way he lived," said Brubeck's principal.
Brubeck's life was cut short after he and three others died on the night of June 9 in a crash involving a milk tanker and seven vehicles on the Loop 2020 and 52nd Street.
At least nine other people were injured after the tanker failed to yield.
“He was always the light of the room,” said Dante's friend Leslie Salvador.
His family describe him as a light shining in their hearts with a contagious smile and determined to make those embrace life the way he did with joy.
“If you were having a bad day, he would just show up to your house and just be there for you. Whether it be roasting you or just making jokes with you or just getting ice-cream. He would make sure he did something to make you feel better,” said his cousin Annalisa Salucido.
Dante was friends with 20-year-old Jennifer Vidal, who also lost her life that night. Both were in the same car when the milk tanker crashed into them and several other vehicles.
The other two victims of the crash are 35-year-old Sedeqwa Keyara-Parker and 21-year-old Alexuis Hooper, both from Phoenix.
According to DPS investigators, the driver of the milk truck tanker was going eastbound on Loop 202 at the 52nd Street off-ramp and failed to slow down enough for traffic congestion. The milk truck hit multiple other vehicles.
Impairment was not a factor in the crash, investigators said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending nine investigators to conduct a safety probe into the crash in cooperation with the Arizona public safety department.
Family and friends have set up a GO FUND Me account to help with Brubeck's funeral expenses.
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