'Run For Ria': Family & Friends Honor Young Woman Killed In Crash To Raise Awareness

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Family and friends of a young woman killed in a crash are keeping her memory alive.

Ria Patel died in a suspected drunk driving crash in September 2017. She was a junior at the University of St. Thomas.

On Sunday, there was a walk and run in her honor at Purgatory Creek Park in Eden Prairie. Money raised will go the Ria Patel Foundation, a nonprofit raising awareness for drunk and distracted driving.

"She was such a young girl, full of life. Beautiful girl. I mean, any time you were with her, you feel you could tell her anything. It was just a very open relationship, so this organization was created just to keep her memory alive and have friends and family know that she is still here with us," Raveena Patel said.

Michael Campbell crashed the car Patel was riding in. His friends told investigators he had been drinking the night it happened. H's now serving nearly four years in prison for the crash and for leaving the scene.