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Friends: VCU student allegedly killed by drunk driver was always sober

Posted at 7:38 PM, Feb 23, 2012
and last updated 2012-02-24 07:55:45-05

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - A funeral mass for Carolina Perez, the VCU student killed in a car crash early Wednesday morning,  will be held Saturday at St. Luke's Catholic Church in Virginia Beach. [Click Here]

Perez, a VCU sophomore at the time of her death, was described as a devoted member of the Cathedral's Campus Ministry community.

Police arrested Varinder Chahal, 23, of Springfield, Virginia, in connection with the crash that killed Perez. He is charged with driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a blood or breath test and felony manslaughter, according to a press release from the Richmond Police Department. [Read More]

Two photos of Perez and candles are set up at the Catholic Campus Ministries House and inside the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

Beside each one, paper and pens for friends to write messages, about a young woman so many folks admired.

Josh Dart, the minister for the Campus Catholic Ministries, has fond memories of Perez and cannot believe she is gone.  Dart said he was also one of the last people to see her alive since the accident happened minutes after she and her friends left the CCM house.

“She was known for her joy but she was always the sober one at parties," said Dart. "I was told that yesterday, by multiple students and so to have her life taken from her through someone who was drinking or intoxicated, somewhat drunk is really just so unfair.”

For Amy Klim, a short friendship has left her with a lifetime of memories.

“One of her trademark features was her smile and her laugh,” said Klim, who met Perez last semester.

“She has touched countless lives, just from being who she is, being a daughter of God, and she was just a beautiful person.”