Family of Glasgow University student killed in US launch bail petition

20-year-old Ahmed Alqubaisi was arrested following the crash and is now awaiting a second detention hearing on multiple charges, including homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, careless driving and speeding.

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Ms Arnesson-Cronharme, who graduated in June with a degree in astrophysics, was rushed to hospital but died from her injuries. She had moved to Penn State University in Pennsylvania to complete at PHD.

Mr Alqubaisi was denied bail in his initial arraignment hearing earlier this month. A second detention hearing is set for Wednesday, but the family of Swedish-born Arnesson-Cronharme have claimed that the alleged killer’s wealthy father will pay the bail fee and may look to flee the country.

Writing in an online petition, they said: “The driver, a 20-year-old student from The United Arab Emirates without a driver's license, is now in custody, suspected of murder without bail due to the risk of flight.

“At the next detention hearing on 9/27, there is a high risk that the bail will be set at an amount which must not happen.

“The driver’s father is incredibly wealthy and can pay whatever amount is asked. If that happens, the driver will flee the country and will never be heard from again. It is incredibly important that he continues to be lame without being able to bail.”

Ms Arensson-Cronharme studied for four years at the University of Glasgow and was a prominent member of their weightlifting club. At one stage, she was third strongest university student in Scotland in her weight-class.

Having enjoyed her time in Scotland, she moved to America to complete her PHD and be with her partner, Matt Hollingham. The pair planned on finishing their studies together before heading to Stockholm in order to be close to her family.

Mr Hollingham said: “I want to make it very clear that Lovisa died pursuing her dreams. She was running on the sidewalk, and she died. She did nothing wrong, and there wasn’t anything more she could have done in her situation. She was airlifted to hospital, but it was too late. I was lucky enough to be able to hold her hand when she was pronounced dead. She was still beautiful.”

“We had already discussed we were going to get married. I was going to propose in the fall, I was going to find a nice clearing in the trees, and when the first snow of fall came in, I was going to get down on one knee and spend the rest of my life with her. We had it all planned out together.”

Mr Alqubaisi, who is also a student at Penn State University, is said to have crossed through oncoming traffic before leaving the road and careering into Ms Arnesson-Cronharme.

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Mr Hollingham added: “Lovisa came to America with me to pursue a PhD in physics. She was following her dream. It was her fascination from a young age, right up until she died. Can you say that about your life? I don’t know if I can say that about mine. Sometimes I went where life took me. Lovisa had aspects of that as well, and I think we all do, we cannot fully control our lives.”

“She wanted to be a mother, and we were going to have two kids together. Lovisa was the kindest person I have ever met, she was considerate in every way she could be, and she loved greatly, her family and friends.”

The devastated family set up the online petition in the hope convincing the judge in Wednesday’s hearing to refuse bail to Mr Alqubaisi. As of Tuesday, the petition had reached nearly 17,500 signatures.

They wrote: “We as a family are now appealing to the public to sign this to be able to file Lovisa's case. We don't have a lot of money to pay expensive lawyers but if we could get just your vote, we might be able to influence the judge so that the driver remains in custody without being able to be released on bail.”