FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — The Fresno community is reeling with sorrow after the tragic loss of two sisters, 14-year-old Rayla Piedra and 21-year-old Angelina Nino, who died following a violent crash late Tuesday night, October 28, 2025. What began as an ordinary evening ended in heartbreak and disbelief for a family and a city that loved them.
According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, Angelina was driving eastbound on Belmont Avenue around 11 p.m. when she failed to stop at the Brawley Avenue stop sign. Investigators say her vehicle made an abrupt turn, sending it off the roadway, where it collided with a power pole, multiple trees, fencing, and even a parked vehicle, before coming to rest in a nearby trucking yard.
First responders arrived quickly. Angelina was pronounced dead at the scene, while Rayla was transported to a hospital with critical injuries. Despite the medical team’s best efforts, Rayla later succumbed to her wounds. A third occupant, a 27-year-old man inside the vehicle, survived but remains hospitalized with major injuries.
The news sent shockwaves through their hometown. Rayla, a student at Justin Garza High School in the Central Unified School District, was remembered by classmates as bright, kind, full of life, and always ready to make someone smile. Angelina was more than a sister; she was a protector, a nurturer, the kind of person whose love for family was boundless. The bond between the two was described by loved ones as inseparable, their lives closely knit and their presence in each other’s world constant.
Friends, neighbors, and classmates have rallied around the grieving family, working to make sense of a tragedy that feels senseless. Memorials have sprung up, stories of shared laughter and cherished moments are being exchanged, and quiet vigils are held in homes and schoolyards. The heartbreak is collective, because their impact was far greater than just within their home.
As Fresno mourns, the faces and voices of Rayla and Angelina linger in memory: Rayla’s warm laughter, Angelina’s caring guidance, both sisters full of dreams yet unrealized. Their time here was too short, but their light—so many attest—won’t fade. Their story is now woven into the fabric of the city’s grief, but also its resolve: to hold one another tighter, to tell love before it’s too late, and to remember that some losses echo forever.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and authorities continue to gather evidence to fully determine how a momentary turn turned into such profound loss. In the meantime, Fresno holds its breath, offering support where it can, honoring two lives that left too soon but left a mark.
