CHP identifies 22-year-old killed in crash on Highway 58 in SLO County

California Highway Patrol has identified the woman killed in a crash on Highway 58 early Thursday morning as 22-year-old Trista Loftus, of Nipomo.

According to CHP, Loftus was driving a 1997 Ford F-150 down Highway 58 east of Highway 299 in Santa Margarita when the vehicle overturned. She was taken from the truck and transported to Adventist Health Sierra Vista hospital where she later died from her injuries, according to CHP.

Loftus was known to some in San Luis Obispo County as “Firecracker” for her explosive fighting style as a celebrated mixed martial arts fighter as a child.

In a profile of her when she was 14, Loftus told The Tribune she loved “the adrenaline you get before a tournament or a big fight.”

“The feeling when you learn a new skill,” she said. “The feeling of constant accomplishment.”

In the days following her death, Loftus’ family members and friends took to social media to honor her life.

“Thank you for loving my little girl,” mother Tierra Stordahl posted on social media platform Threads on Thursday. “She is an angel now.”

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with funeral expenses as well as establish a memorial fund.

“We know how close they are, and how generous with their love, time and resources this family has always been,” wrote Staci Emmack, organizer of the fundraiser. “God bless your beautiful soul, Trista.”

As of Friday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised $8,805 of its $10,000 goal.