Heartbroken mother warns community after daughter killed in fiery Walnut Creek crash

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KTVU) - A Bay Area mother has a message for others after the death of her 18-year-old daughter in a fiery car crash last week.

Adrienne Semien said an unlicensed driver should never have been behind the wheel.

The heartbroken mother said the deadly crash was preventable and senseless.Semien hopes that what happened to her daughter will be a warning to others. 

"I dropped my daughter at 5 p.m. and I never seen her again," Semien said. 

She is struggling to come to terms with the death of her daughter Zakiya Thomas of Antioch. 

She said she dropped off the 18-year-old at a BART station late Tuesday afternoon. Less than six hours later, the teenager died in a car crash. 
 
"It's unbelievable," Semien said.

The grieving mother said Zakiya and her cousin Terri Williams, also 18-years-old, had gone to a relative's home in Oakland and that they were on their way home around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday when they were killed. 
 
"I am heartbroken I miss my daughter. I miss her cousin. It's senseless," says Semien.
 
The mom said the coroner's office initially told her Zakiya was driving a Pontiac Grand Prix on Interstate 680 northbound in Walnut Creek.

CHP said the driver was going too fast when taking the North Main Street exit. The car veered off the roadway and crashed into a tree. 

The car caught on fire, killing the two young women and 47-year-old Dimitri Washington of Oakland, a family friend who owned the car.  
 
Semien said he should have been driving the car.

"It's something that could have been prevented. They didn't have no license and the person's car they were in, it was his car. He had a license, so why did he let her drive" she questioned.
  
Semien said over the weekend, the coroner's office determined through dental records that the driver was not her daughter, but her cousin. 

She said neither young women had experience driving, "I just can't understand. Still, I want answers. It's hard."   
 
Semien lost her 21-year-old son Devonte Thomas to gun violence three years ago. Now, her daughter, the only child she had left. 

"It's just a nightmare, something I never imagined in my life," says Semien, "I just wanted her to be happy. Enjoy life. Life is too short." 
 
The mom says she's taking comfort in messages of love and support from Zakiya's friends. 

She described her daughter as an angel who had dreams of modeling and she loved photography.

Zakiya was scheduled to graduate from Oakland's Dewey High School in December.

Now, Semien is planning a memorial service for her daughter to be held sometime in September.