SAN ANTONIO — Two San Antonio men are grateful to be alive after they say they were face to face with a driver speeding against traffic early Saturday morning before he eventually crashed into another vehicle, killing two women inside.
Police say 58-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez was traveling at speeds of up to 90 mph before he hit the car. Authorities said 25-year-old Daniela Lute and a 26-year-old Diana Rubio were killed on impact.
Eyewitness Anthony Lozano caught the aftermath of the crash in cell phone video.
”Oh my God, that could have been me," Lozano said, sounding breathless and in shock. The crash is about 100 feet away as he realizes what he’s just seen.
"I literally just saw people die," Lozano said, with a distraught look on his face.
Lozano said he was heading home from Buffalo Wild Wings when he saw a helicopter above him.
"By the time I realized that I looked down, I look forward, actually look to where the light was," he recounted.
He said he saw law enforcement officers on the other side of the median, then noticed a truck moving quickly toward him.
"I would say by six, seven car lengths away. So I had some time to react," Lozano said.
He was able to move out of the way, but saw the crash happen not long after.
"They flew in the air, like, both cars flew like 20, 30 feet, hit the sign. And then and then...their vehicles exploded," Lozano said.
Police said it was a tragic end to an 18-mile effort to get Rodriguez to stop driving the wrong way.
"It was horrible," Lozano said.
Ed Perez also had a close encounter with the driver on Saturday.
"Hearing about the two girls, like, if it was just me has been one person, but it was two people that ended up dying," Perez said.
Perez has spent the weekend reflecting. He said he was on his way home from a DJ gig on I-37 when he saw headlights.
"Something's just doesn't seem right," Perez recounted.
He described the moment he realized the truck in front of him was in fact heading straight for him:
"And literally, like a blink of an eye, he's from over there to now he's in front of me. So I literally swerve and it's like inches from hitting him," Perez said.
Escaping from the tragedy, Perez headed to the golf course on Sunday. He said the close call has been weighing heavily on his mind.
"There's a lot of, like, unworthy feeling. Like why me? Why did I get to live? Why did they have to die?" Perez said.
Lozano saying he is also shaken by what happened. He said his son, a toddler, was in the back seat.
"What if it had happened to me, you know, how would it be knowing my son, and he's one and a half years old," Lozano said.
Both men expressing their condolences to the families who have just lost loved ones.
"It's very shocking, very sad, and it's something that should have been avoided easily," Lozano said.
Perez said he hopes to connect with the families.
"It's tough. I feel really, really bad about what they're.... it's tough," Perez said.
Both men said they are now counting their blessings.
"Maybe God was watching over me," Lozano said.
Perez said he took the time to call his loved ones after the incident.
"I'm super grateful, a lot of reflection of like what do I want to complete in my life before this is all over? Because it's gone like that," Perez said, snapping his fingers.
Ricardo is being charged on two counts of intoxication manslaughter, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.