(UPDATE Feb. 11, 2016) — Fresno driver gets 16 years in prison for DUI crash that killed Molly Griffin: bit.ly/Bee-MollyCourtUpdate021116

Fresno State’s School of Nursing and the family of Molly Griffin have established a scholarship in memory of the 2014 graduate who died in a car accident Feb. 21, 2015.

Ms. Griffin, 23, was killed when a suspected drunk driver ran a red light and struck her car at Friant and Copper avenues in north Fresno.

The other driver, Hector Castillo-Pichardo, was booked into Fresno County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI. His passenger, Oscar Felix, 32, of Fresno and father of three, also died.

Ms. Griffin’s passenger and best friend Emily Krieghoff, 23, survived but was critically injured and is recovering at Community Regional Medical Center. Krieghoff had applied to Fresno State’s pre-nursing program for the fall 2015 semester as a transfer student from Fresno City College, according to the Fresno State Records Office.

Ms. Griffin, who attended Fresno Christian Schools in Fresno, graduated magna cum laude from Fresno State last May, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. She was employed at Madera Community Hospital.

The California Student Nursing Association at Fresno State posted this message in her honor Sunday:

“CNSA and the entire School of Nursing at Fresno State would like to send our thoughts and prayers to the Griffin Family as we mourn the loss of a bright young life. From those who knew her best to those who never had the pleasure of meeting her, words cannot express the sense of loss that sweeps over us all today. May her life and legacy live on in the hearts of her family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. Rest in Peace, beautiful girl.”

In lieu of flowers, Ms. Griffin’s family asks that remembrances be made to the Molly Taylor Griffin Nursing Scholarship at Fresno State.

Checks should be payable to the Fresno State Foundation and mailed to 2345 E. San Ramon, M/S MH26, Fresno, CA 93740-8031. Donors may also contribute online at www.fresnostate.edu/advancement/giving/givenow.html. Mark “Other” and enter “Molly Taylor Griffin Scholarship.”

For more information, contact Dana Zupanovich Lucka at 559.278.3603.