Updated 19:38 | Published at 19:36
Swedish Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre was going to get a doctorate in physics at the university in the USA.
Now a 20-year-old student without a driver’s license is in custody on suspicion of killing her – and the police fear that he will flee if he is released.
– She is my oldest daughter, but also my best friend, says mother Maja.
On Tuesday evening, Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre, 25, was out jogging on the Penn State campus.
She and her British boyfriend had moved in just under a month ago. They had five years behind them in Glasgow, where Lovisa graduated in June in astrophysics. Now she was going to get her doctorate in Pennsylvania.
But as Lovisa ran along Park Avenue, a BMW M3 came at high speed on the wet road. The surveillance cameras show that the car was traveling in the wrong lane and made a sharp left turn onto the sidewalk.
Lovisa was taken to hospital with serious brain and neck injuries, but her life could not be saved.
Early on Wednesday morning, mother Maja Cronhamre received the news at home in Örebro.
– It is very difficult to take in, I think that the body protects you a little. It’s horrible and feels terribly unfair. She did nothing wrong, she says.
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Police concerns
The driver Ahmed Alqubaisi, 20, was arrested and detained on suspicion of murder, manslaughter and negligence in traffic. He did not have a driver’s license and was previously suspended from the university, according to College State Police.
– He drove at a higher speed than is considered safe in the area, the police said in a statement.
Alqubaisi was born in the United Arab Emirates and has no ties to Pennsylvania. He has previously been refused bail as the police fear he will flee.
Lovisa’s family back home in Sweden has received information that the 20-year-old is now getting help from a number of lawyers ahead of the detention hearing on September 27, where it will be decided whether he can be released on bail.
– He has a very rich father who sent a lot of lawyers. For them, money is nothing. They can pay anything, says Maja Cronhamre and continues:
– Lovisa’s fiance has been contacted by a lot of people. I don’t know if it’s lawyers, but private investigators trying to get information that can help the man’s case.
“My best friend”
Now the family has started a collection of names on the website “Justice for Lovisa”. The list must be sent to the judge in the case to prevent his release.
Maja Cronhamre says that she will never get her daughter back, but hopes that the collection of names will contribute to Lovisa’s recovery.
– There is no one more intelligent, purposeful and warm person. She is my oldest daughter, but also my best friend, she says and continues:
– She has started competing in powerlifting in recent years and it felt terrible to realize that my daughter was stronger than me. But she is so all in, what she decides to do she is the best at.
