Crash kills Tokay High grads near Grand Canyon

It was supposed to be a fun road trip to the breathtaking Grand Canyon for Lodi and Stockton natives Christen Ebert, Gary Sidhu, Kouang “Rocky” Saefong and Richard Chum.

But their journey was cut short just south of Flagstaff, Ariz., early Friday morning when a Jeep going the wrong way on Interstate 17 struck their Nissan head-on.

All four were killed in the collision, just hours from their destination, said Quentin Mehr, a spokesman for Arizona’s Department of Public Safety.

The driver of the Jeep was injured but survived, and the DPS — with duties similar to the California Highway Patrol — is investigating the crash, Mehr said.

Ebert, 26, Chum, 30, Sidhu, 29, and Saefong, 30, were Tokay High School graduates. Ebert was a culinary arts student and sous-chef who previously worked as a behavioral therapist at Genesis Behavior Health. Sidhu lived in Lodi and worked at Lodi Memorial Hospital as a physician’s scribe. Saefong was a Sacramento real estate agent.

“They were four genuine, really good people,” their friend David Chao told the News-Sentinel.

The four were part of a large, closeknit group of friends and family, he said. They would often talk about places they wanted to go — the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Costa Rica.

The group headed to the Grand Canyon last week was larger at first, Chao said, but for several people life just got in the way. In the end, it was Ebert, her boyfriend Sidhu, Chum and Saefong who made the trip.

“It’s been extremely shocking. Of course we did not expect this was going to happen,” Chao said.

Ebert, a former therapist, was living her dream of becoming a chef, her aunt Susan Ebert said.

“Christen and her boyfriend, Gary, were pretty active in rock climbing. They did races like Tough Mudder and those things,” she said.

Christen Ebert had studied psychology at Sonoma State University, but even in high school she loved cooking and the culinary arts, Susan Ebert said.

Christen Ebert and Gary Sidhu had been dating for a little over two years. Sidhu was a physician’s scribe in the emergency department at Lodi Memorial Hospital, but he, too, had dreams. He wanted to be a physician himself someday, and was working toward that goal, Susan Ebert said.

“(Christen) was really outgoing and fun-loving,” she said. The family is taking her loss hard, especially since Christen Ebert’s mother passed away last summer.

“It’s just difficult to have this happen now,” Susan Ebert said.

Her former employer, Genesis Behavior Health, also felt the loss.

“She was an awesome person,” said Nancy Jimenez, who works in the company’s human resources department and interviewed Ebert when she applied to work there. Her clients all loved her, Jimenez said.

Chao had known Ebert since middle school, and was part of the group of friends who introduced her to Sidhu on a camping trip.

He was also a close friend of Chum and Saefong.

“Richard — I’ve known that guy for a long time,” Chao said. “One day, out of nowhere, he ended up being the person I called whenever I came home to visit, or when I was bored or sad.”

He could be quiet, but he was a unique person with an amazing sense of humor, Chao said. “He had perfect comedic timing,” he said. Saefong reminded him of his own brother, who passed away three years ago, Chao said.

“That guy is a stand-up person. He’s one of the happiest, most optimistic, most supportive people I’ve ever known,” he said.

Chao set up a GoFundMe page that raised more than $26,000 on Tuesday evening. The funds will go toward helping the families with funeral expenses, Chao wrote on the page.

“In times of loss, it’s hard to think about the financial burden that comes with it, much less with four individual families,” he wrote on the page. “We’re all devastated with grief and any donations will help. Our brotherhood of friends is communicating and coordinating with each individual family for funeral arrangements.”

The page has become a memorial of sorts for friends and family members. Some have left a few words about the four friends while leaving a donation. Others have sent Chao long, heartfelt stories which he has posted for everyone to read.

Friends remembered pretending to fall asleep to annoy Chum, his kindness and creativity, or how he would say a Cambodian prayer before setting off on a road trip. Ebert was always around to offer support through hard times, friends wrote. She and Saefong were always looking for the next adventure. Sidhu was a ready actor for films his group of friends put together.

“We were a big family. They were the glue that kept us together,” Chao said.

The accident occurred at about 4:15 a.m. Friday on northbound Interstate 17, south of Flagstaff and just east of Sedona, Mehr said.

A Jeep driven by 19-year-old Carlos Quinonez of Casa Grande, Ariz., entered the northbound side of I-17 headed south, before crashing into the Nissan.

Quinonez was transported to a Flagstaff hospital with injuries, Mehr said.

Wrong-way drivers have been an ongoing problem on Arizona’s interstates. Since the beginning of 2017, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has received more than 1,000 calls about wrong-way drivers, AZ Central reported.

While most of the incidents were resolved before law enforcement arrived on the scene, DPS arrested 52 wrong-way drivers earlier this year — all of whom were found to be driving under the influence, a DPS spokesman told the news outlet.

DPS is still investigating whether alcohol or drugs played a role in Friday’s crash, Mehr said.