Raechel and Jacqueline Houck had a five-hour drive from their mother’s Ojai home north to Santa Cruz. They wanted to see some friends along the way and Raechel had to work that evening, so the sisters hugged their family and, with Raechel behind the wheel, drove off in their rented PT Cruiser.
Raechel, 24, had just returned from two years in Italy and had come south to be fitted for a bridesmaid’s dress for a friend’s wedding. Jacqueline, 20, was about to travel to Central America for a few months and promised her mother they’d see each other soon.
