Kati Covarrubias-Barron faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder, in connection with the crash. The collision happened shortly after midnight Sunday on the highway’s inner loop.

Court documents allege Covarrubias-Barron was driving without headlights and had acknowledged drinking five mixed drinks before the crash. She is being held in jail without bond. The charges are allegations, and the case will proceed through the courts.

The women who died were Diamond Dawson and My’Angel Robinson. Inga Gilmore, Dawson’s mother, said she had been with both women hours earlier to celebrate Dawson’s birthday. Later, an automated crash alert reached her phone.

Gilmore said the families were close and often traveled together and celebrated holidays as a group. She described Dawson and Robinson as sisters in all but name: “Angel and Diamond are sisters. We are family. All of us.”

Dawson graduated from school at 17, served in the military and was raising her 4-year-old daughter, Ayomi. She was also working toward a pilot’s license and a master’s degree, Gilmore said.

“A lot of young ladies looked up to Diamond,” Gilmore said, recalling her daughter’s encouragement to others to live fully, travel and strive to do their best.

Robinson was preparing to begin a new job, Gilmore said. “Angel was just that,” she said. “An angel. Diamond was a diamond, and Angel was an Angel. Angel is going to be missed.”

Gilmore said she hopes the deaths prompt accountability and greater attention to the risks of impaired driving. “A slap on the wrist is not going to let people hear what really needs to be done,” she said.