tC driver kills woman in hit and run
Senior Member
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 216
From: Miami, FL
Originally Posted by Tomas
What we do know is that the tC driver was going fast enough after jumping the curb to shear a fire hydrant and toss it 30 feet then run down the young lady waiting at the bus stop before steering back out onto the street, abandoning her vehicle and running from the scene.
Racing or not, what she did was wrong.
Tom
Racing or not, what she did was wrong.
Tom
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 14,570
From: University Place, WA
Family prays for justice in hit-and-run
By LINDSAY WISE
March 15, 2007, 11:36PM
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
A neighbor was driving Lisa Garcia to Deerbrook Mall more than 20 years ago when a drunken driver crossed the median and hit them head on.
The crash threw Garcia, then 12, from the backseat into the windshield. Her neighbor died.
Shards of glass embedded in her face left scars that gradually faded as Garcia grew up, but the trauma of that day remained with her. She never learned to drive, preferring instead a 30-minute bus ride to and from her job at a furniture store near downtown.
One month ago, a hit-and-run driver struck and killed Garcia while the 34-year-old office manager waited for a bus at Northwest Mall. Today, a 21-year-old woman prepares to answer charges in Garcia's death and her family, still grieving, say they are praying for justice.
Peace of mind, though, may be harder to find.
"Since it happened, I can't even sleep at night," says Lisa's mother Mary Teresa Garcia. "I have to have a light on and the TV going. I just can't seem to be in the dark."
Whenever they could, one of Garcia's three siblings would pick her up and drive her wherever she wanted to go. The rest of the time, she took the bus.
"She wanted to learn, but she just couldn't get herself behind a wheel," her mother explained.
Recently, however, the fear had begun to subside, and Lisa Garcia was contemplating driver's school. A few months ago, to the elation of her parents and siblings, she drove to the corner store and back.
"We were so excited," her mother recalled.
But Garcia never got the chance to earn her long-delayed driver's license.
Tragedy in a brief moment
Police say Monica Aguilar was speeding north on Hempstead about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 when she lost control of her silver Toyota and swerved onto the sidewalk, striking Garcia at the bus stop.
The force of the impact uprooted a fire hydrant, sent car parts flying and shattered the Toyota's windshield. When the car came to rest several hundred feet away, its windows and doors were streaked with white Paul Mitchell shampoo that exploded from a bottle Lisa Garcia had just bought at the mall. Her purse and white sneakers lay scattered among debris in the street. She died at the scene.
In the ensuing chaos, witnesses saw Aguilar abandon the wrecked car and head toward the mall, police say.
Investigators say they think Aguilar went back to SRO Sports Bar & Café, where witnesses saw her shortly before the accident.
"Nobody knew the girl was going to leave the scene, so everybody rushed over to help the victim," said HPD officer J.H. Cortinas, a hit-and-run investigator. By the time police arrived, he said, Aguilar had disappeared.
Aguilar was charged Feb. 22 with criminally negligent homicide and failure to stop and render assistance. She surrendered to authorities in downtown Houston and was released the same day after posting a $35,000 bond.
"It's a tragedy that Ms. Garcia died, and the Aguilar family is devastated that one of their loved ones may be responsible," said Aguilar's attorney John Parras.
Pain still with family
Such words provide little comfort for the tight-knit Garcia family.
At their northeast Houston home, a votive candle flickers beside a smiling photo of Lisa Garcia, a "happy-go-lucky" Astros fan who loved to bake cookies, shop with her sisters and listen to David Bowie and Mötley Crüe.
"Just a big old chunk was taken from my heart," her mother said. "Nothing can replace it, nothing."
The mother said the last time she spoke to her daughter was about 4:30 p.m. the evening of the fatal crash.
Garcia told her mother she was waiting for the bus after work and might go to the mall to get her hair done before heading to Galveston for Mardi Gras that weekend.
"She said, 'If I catch the 20, I'll go all the way to the mall and if I catch the 40, I'll go home,' " her mother recalled. "I said, 'I love you, be careful.' "
She died a few hours later.
Garcia's sister Sonia Garcia-Torres cannot understand why Aguilar left the accident scene.
"She didn't even try to help my sister, she just left her lying there in the street," Garcia-Torres said. "She was a coward."
Garcia's father, Juan, wants Aguilar prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but he acknowledges he will never be satisfied no matter what the outcome.
"We want her to pay for what she did," he says, his voice breaking. "We suffer. We want her to suffer. That other family, their daughter may be behind bars, but at least she's still alive. At least they can go visit and talk to her. We've got to go to a graveyard."
Arraignment is today
The family plans to attend Aguilar's arraignment together today. If convicted, Aguilar could face up to 10 years in prison for negligent homicide and one to five years for failure to stop and render assistance, her attorney said.
Meanwhile, Garcia's parents cannot bring themselves to return to the mall where their daughter died.
But the day after her sister's death, Garcia-Torres made a pilgrimage there.
"I saw blood stains on the cement," she said. "I lay down on those blood stains to feel her, to be where my sister lost her life, and tell her I'm sorry I wasn't there for her."
lindsay.wise@chron.com
By LINDSAY WISE
March 15, 2007, 11:36PM
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
A neighbor was driving Lisa Garcia to Deerbrook Mall more than 20 years ago when a drunken driver crossed the median and hit them head on.
The crash threw Garcia, then 12, from the backseat into the windshield. Her neighbor died.
Shards of glass embedded in her face left scars that gradually faded as Garcia grew up, but the trauma of that day remained with her. She never learned to drive, preferring instead a 30-minute bus ride to and from her job at a furniture store near downtown.
One month ago, a hit-and-run driver struck and killed Garcia while the 34-year-old office manager waited for a bus at Northwest Mall. Today, a 21-year-old woman prepares to answer charges in Garcia's death and her family, still grieving, say they are praying for justice.
Peace of mind, though, may be harder to find.
"Since it happened, I can't even sleep at night," says Lisa's mother Mary Teresa Garcia. "I have to have a light on and the TV going. I just can't seem to be in the dark."
Whenever they could, one of Garcia's three siblings would pick her up and drive her wherever she wanted to go. The rest of the time, she took the bus.
"She wanted to learn, but she just couldn't get herself behind a wheel," her mother explained.
Recently, however, the fear had begun to subside, and Lisa Garcia was contemplating driver's school. A few months ago, to the elation of her parents and siblings, she drove to the corner store and back.
"We were so excited," her mother recalled.
But Garcia never got the chance to earn her long-delayed driver's license.
Tragedy in a brief moment
Police say Monica Aguilar was speeding north on Hempstead about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 when she lost control of her silver Toyota and swerved onto the sidewalk, striking Garcia at the bus stop.
The force of the impact uprooted a fire hydrant, sent car parts flying and shattered the Toyota's windshield. When the car came to rest several hundred feet away, its windows and doors were streaked with white Paul Mitchell shampoo that exploded from a bottle Lisa Garcia had just bought at the mall. Her purse and white sneakers lay scattered among debris in the street. She died at the scene.
In the ensuing chaos, witnesses saw Aguilar abandon the wrecked car and head toward the mall, police say.
Investigators say they think Aguilar went back to SRO Sports Bar & Café, where witnesses saw her shortly before the accident.
"Nobody knew the girl was going to leave the scene, so everybody rushed over to help the victim," said HPD officer J.H. Cortinas, a hit-and-run investigator. By the time police arrived, he said, Aguilar had disappeared.
Aguilar was charged Feb. 22 with criminally negligent homicide and failure to stop and render assistance. She surrendered to authorities in downtown Houston and was released the same day after posting a $35,000 bond.
"It's a tragedy that Ms. Garcia died, and the Aguilar family is devastated that one of their loved ones may be responsible," said Aguilar's attorney John Parras.
Pain still with family
Such words provide little comfort for the tight-knit Garcia family.
At their northeast Houston home, a votive candle flickers beside a smiling photo of Lisa Garcia, a "happy-go-lucky" Astros fan who loved to bake cookies, shop with her sisters and listen to David Bowie and Mötley Crüe.
"Just a big old chunk was taken from my heart," her mother said. "Nothing can replace it, nothing."
The mother said the last time she spoke to her daughter was about 4:30 p.m. the evening of the fatal crash.
Garcia told her mother she was waiting for the bus after work and might go to the mall to get her hair done before heading to Galveston for Mardi Gras that weekend.
"She said, 'If I catch the 20, I'll go all the way to the mall and if I catch the 40, I'll go home,' " her mother recalled. "I said, 'I love you, be careful.' "
She died a few hours later.
Garcia's sister Sonia Garcia-Torres cannot understand why Aguilar left the accident scene.
"She didn't even try to help my sister, she just left her lying there in the street," Garcia-Torres said. "She was a coward."
Garcia's father, Juan, wants Aguilar prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but he acknowledges he will never be satisfied no matter what the outcome.
"We want her to pay for what she did," he says, his voice breaking. "We suffer. We want her to suffer. That other family, their daughter may be behind bars, but at least she's still alive. At least they can go visit and talk to her. We've got to go to a graveyard."
Arraignment is today
The family plans to attend Aguilar's arraignment together today. If convicted, Aguilar could face up to 10 years in prison for negligent homicide and one to five years for failure to stop and render assistance, her attorney said.
Meanwhile, Garcia's parents cannot bring themselves to return to the mall where their daughter died.
But the day after her sister's death, Garcia-Torres made a pilgrimage there.
"I saw blood stains on the cement," she said. "I lay down on those blood stains to feel her, to be where my sister lost her life, and tell her I'm sorry I wasn't there for her."
lindsay.wise@chron.com
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SL Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 382
From: PHX, 85027 :-D
I agree with everyone saying its a good example of why people should not street race...but I always have to wonder when its import and a younger driver and someone says:
...'the car was street racing, but there is no description of the other car' If you SAW cars, you SAW two cars.
Seeing two cars means describing at least something. Something like, 'it had body damage,' or 'it was blue-ish'. You don't have to know anything about cars to make statements like that. Even though information like that might be woreless in an investigation, it would support good reporting.
Sucks to see a tC get a bad name like that
Kind of get the feeling it may have not been street racing, but either way tragic and my feelings go out to the family of the person at the bus stop.
...'the car was street racing, but there is no description of the other car' If you SAW cars, you SAW two cars.
Seeing two cars means describing at least something. Something like, 'it had body damage,' or 'it was blue-ish'. You don't have to know anything about cars to make statements like that. Even though information like that might be woreless in an investigation, it would support good reporting.
Sucks to see a tC get a bad name like that
Kind of get the feeling it may have not been street racing, but either way tragic and my feelings go out to the family of the person at the bus stop.
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