WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — It’s been almost 10 months since 26-year-old Carol “Butterflii” Galentine was killed in a hit-and-run crash in West Valley City.
Now, police arrested the person they believe is responsible for her death.
As Christmas Day gets closer and closer, Andrea “Andy” Olsen can’t imagine the holiday without her fiancée.
“This year is kind of quiet,” she said. “Every holiday is quiet. Every day is quiet. Everything is just quiet.”
Olsen waited for 10 months, and then this weekend, U.S. Marshals arrested the person they believe hit and killed Galentine on Feb. 23.
“She was stolen from all of us,” Olsen said.
Galentine was heading home from work, driving through 3600 West and West Parkway Blvd., when a truck ran a red light and hit her. She died at the scene, the day before the couple's anniversary.
“I’m looking at the car and I get closer and closer and closer and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, this is the car,’” said Olsen. “Then I just drop to the ground and start bawling my eyes out.”
30-year-old Cristal Garcia faces charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident involving death, speeding, and more. Court documents say Garcia told officers that she wasn’t the driver, but detectives say her handprint near the steering wheel says otherwise.
“So now I have to live with that every day and I have dreams about her every day,” said Olsen.
Galentine and Olsen planned to get married this summer. Now, Olsen treasures the mementos left behind: crafts, giraffe stuffed animals, and their dog, Rocky.
“Poems. She would write me romantic poems. They were the most amazing thing ever, oh my gosh,” Olsen said. “I haven’t pulled them out. Maybe one day I’ll pull them out and read them again, but…not right now.”
