SAN ANTONIO — A 17-year-old is facing multiple charges after police say Elijah James Montalvo was intoxicated when he crashed into a SUV with four people inside.
At around 1:30 Sunday morning, police say 17 year old Montalvo crashed his car into a vehicle with four people inside off Loop 1604 near Culebra. Investigators were able to use the jaws of life to cut into the SUV and remove two people.
“Crashed right into it. Demolishing that vehicle," SAPD Officer Alisia Pruneda said.
Two men, 37-year-old Daniel Valenzuela Jr. and 69-year-old Daniel Valenzuela Sr. died at the scene. Andrea Iglesias Uvalle, 84, was taken to the hospital where she died.
As a result of the crash, a family in Odessa is mourning their loss from hundreds of miles away.
"It's a great loss for our community," Gloria Garza, a friend of the family, said.
Gloria worked with Valenzuela Jr. at Medical Center Health System in Odessa. He was a sergeant and seven year veteran of the Ector County Hospital District. Garza said she works with Valenzuela's daughter and said he was an amazing coworker and father.
"They they had a bond. He was just he he had that face, but he was there to have that hand for anybody, you know, no matter what it was, you just got to get to know him. But as you can see, they come from a home of serving our community," Garza said.
Garza said the family was in San Antonio for the Los Bukis concert. Garza said the family of four stopped to get food, and were a block away from their hotel when the crash happened.
"They never made it back home. So they I feel like they they spent their final memories together at this concert as," Garza said. "It was an amazing experience for them."
Valenzuela Sr. was a deacon for the Catholic church for more than 20 years, and Uvalle would help bring in the Easter holiday by making cascarones for the community. Uvalle was Valenzuela's grandmother.
The fourth passenger, a 41-year-old woman, is in the hospital with serious injuries. Garza said she is Valenzuela Jr's wife.
Garza said the family had just beaten COVID-19 as well.
"Then to come and to have a 17 year old take that away, it's. There's so much anger," Garza said.
"Garza says she wants to do all she can to help the family because she also lost a husband to drunk driving.
"Our community is not going to see Officer Valenzuela, no more or his dad, our deacon or his grandmother? We've lost that," Garza said.
Garza added she prays that Montalvo feel remorse and eventually receive forgiveness. She said there is no excuse for drunk driving in the age of Uber.
Montalvo is being held on a $700,00 bond. He faces multiple charges of manslaughter and intoxication manslaughter.
A GoFundMe has been created for the Valenzuela family.