Family, Friends Mourn Woman Killed in River Boating Accident

Ashley Rollins was remembered Saturday for how she blossomed from her tomboy days into a young woman with good values, a strong faith and a sparkling personality that made people laugh.

More than 250 friends and relatives filled the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rancho Santa Margarita to celebrate a life cut short by a boat crash on the Colorado River that also killed two of Rollins’ friends and left another in a coma.

“Ashley was an amazing person who was never afraid to be herself. She was a leader who let nothing stand in her way,” her friend Valerie Ibarra said.”There was never a dull moment ... I could always count on her to put a smile on my face.”

Rollins, 18, of Mission Viejo, died Sept. 19, shortly after the speedboat in which she riding was struck by another racing boat on a stretch of the Colorado River in Arizona known as the Parker Strip.

Also killed were her friends from childhood, Jonathan Herbert, 21, and his sister, Jacquel, 18, of Laguna Hills. Their memorial services were to be held at 2 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church of Laguna Hills.

Josh Rogers, 18, of Mission Viejo remained in a coma Saturday with serious head injuries. The driver of the other boat, Grier D. Rush of Maywood, was being held in an Arizona jail, charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Rollins was a Saddleback College student and worked part-time as a pharmacy clerk at a Sav-On drugstore. She was considering a career in dental hygiene.

At her funeral, guests were greeted by a picture board with snapshots of her at the river.

The centerpiece showed her in the passenger seat of a powerboat, wearing sunglasses and smiling, her hair blowing in the wind.

Her uncle and aunt said Ashley was a smart and brave girl who grew into a responsible teenager who looked up to and relied on her brother, but was independent.

As a girl, she could hit a pinata as hard as the boys, and if they gave her any trouble, “she’d just beat them up,” Craig Ryan said of his niece.

“She was a true tomboy,” his wife said, recalling the time she suggested that Ashley might want to act more like a girl. “She said ‘Don’t worry Aunt Bobbi, I’ll be just fine.’ ”

Neighbor and friend Maribel Rodriguez said one of their favorite things to do together was take bubble baths in the spa at the Rollins home. Once, when Ashley’s parents were away, they got so carried away the bubbles spilled into the backyard and the spa broke.

Ashley really liked to drive around in her white Thunderbird, calling herself “the captain,” and leaning on the horn as she passed through the neighborhood, no matter what time it was, Rodriguez said.

“It was like a little hello to everyone,” she said. “She just wanted to let everyone know she had made it home.”