Woman died in motorcycle accident, months after her fiancé died in another accident

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News/Gray News) – A family in Tucson, Arizona is mourning the loss of their 21-year-old daughter.

Mia Valencia died in a motorcycle accident on Friday evening on Catalina Highway near Molino Basin Campground.

“You go into a state of shock. It’s kind of unbelievable,” said David Valencia, Mia Valencia’s father. “You hope you wake up the next day, and that’s just not true.”

Two months ago, Mia Valencia was busy building a memorial for her fiancé, Xander Ryser, who also died in a motorcycle accident in March.

Mia Valencia’s family left flowers at her memorial on Monday.

“In memory of Mia and Xander,” said David Valencia. “Our hope is that they are together now, but not in the way we wanted.”

According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Mia Valencia and an unnamed driver were riding a motorcycle at a high rate of speed on Catalina Highway. As the motorcycle entered a curve, it crashed into a guardrail, throwing both Mia Valencia and the rider into an embankment.

“I looked down and there was this guy sitting there crying,” said Avery Lolar, who witnessed the crash. “He sounded really upset. I saw that his knee was completely scratched and dented. There was a girl lying next to him who still had her motorcycle helmet on, but was looking motionless down the mountain.”

The driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries, while Mia Valencia died at the scene.

“If it’s late at night, it’s dark and you’re going too fast on those corners, they’ll really sneak up on you,” Lolar said.

David Valencia said the last few days have been a blur. He said sharing stories with those they loved helped him get by.

“She was always outgoing,” David Valencia said. “You can see the pictures of her at her memorial, her eyes were always slitted like ‘Hello Kitty.’ She loved Hello Kitty. Her smile was so big. Her eyes would light up a room any day.”

David Valencia shared a love of motorcycles with his daughter, but after losing two people in just a few months, he wants others to be careful.

“Slow down. There are areas where you can drive fast,” he said. “They do them, but this Mount Lemmon is not the place to drive fast and take turns at 80, 50, 40 miles an hour. This one Mountain plays a role forever, and I know that for sure. Understand your bike, understand how fast you go. My daughter didn’t do it.

The investigations are still ongoing.

The family started a GoFundMe to help with services.

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