SAN ANTONIO — The controversial Bexar County Sheriff's Office chase that left a San Antonio Police Department officer injured made headlines two weeks ago. But, what many were unaware of was that there was another victim.
That victim is a single mother of three kids who is now without her car and has piling medical bills after she was hit head-on by the suspects.
Yesenia Orozco said she was heading home after work on October 3 when she saw the lights and sirens.
“It looked like a scene that should’ve been in a movie. But, it wasn’t,” she said of the police chase that was coming toward her.
“For sure, I was thinking, they’re going to stop them right there. No, they kept going with that blown tire, turned left and was coming straight towards me and I was like, ‘holy s**t.'”
She said she was trapped between cars and was unable to avoid the crash. She said instead, she hoped the driver would miss her newly purchased car.
“I just tried bracing for it, and (they) just hit,” Orozco said.
The driver hit the front of her vehicle and continued driving the wrong way down the highway, evading authorities despite a blown tire.
"I was taken by EMS because my neck, my shoulder and lower back were hurting," Orozco said. "I told the officers that arrived that my legs were tingling, and they said, 'Oh, that's the adrenaline rush.' And I said, 'Well, it's a nasty feeling. It feels like nothing like spiders are crawling over my legs.'"
While working traffic on the wreckage the chase left in its wake, San Antonio Police Officer Ralph Delgado was hit by a vehicle.
Delgado's injuries and the chase that preceded his injuries drew criticism from San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, who said the chase and its aftermath were examples of why his agency is more conservative when it comes to vehicle pursuits.
"If there is any blame to assign in these incidents, it is on the two dangerous felons that fled from deputies and on the inattentive driver who struck the SAPD Police Officer an hour after the felony pursuit and crash,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said after the pursuit.
McManus said that the COPS TV crew, which was in tow with the Sheriff's Office during the chase, influenced the Sheriff's Office's decision to pursue the two suspects.
While Delgado has received an outpouring of community support and publicity, Orozco's situation went largely overlooked.
Two weeks after the crash, Orozco's vehicle remains impounded, she said she still feels pain in her back and that medical bills are piling up. According to Orozco, the ambulance ride to the hospital was more than $1,000 alone.
“I’m without my car. The officer was hurt. Other people could’ve been seriously injured," she said. "(The pursuit) wasn’t worth it.”
Orozco, who works at a dry cleaning facility, has been unable to take time off from work. She said that being without her car has prevented her from going about her daily routine of grocery shopping, taking her children to school, among other things. She is relying on a neighbor, who is allowing her to use their vehicle in the meantime.
Orozco said she has spoken with attorneys about the circumstances of her injuries. The attorneys, she said, explained that she was unable to recover any money to pay for medical bills and vehicle damage because her injuries were suffered during the commission of a crime.
She said unless the person who owned the car that the suspects were driving had a certain type of insurance or had given the suspects permission to use the vehicle, she is unable to make a claim. Attorneys also advised her that even if she were to file a claim with the county, the law creates many obstacles.
Attorney Leslie Sachanowitz worked for the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, representing county agencies, including the Sheriff's Office, in incidents including vehicle pursuits. He said that state law makes it extremely difficult for individuals to sue to recover medical expenses, among other demands, from government agencies. Even if, like in Orozco's case, the victim was an innocent bystander.
“It really is sad that people look for our state, local government to protect them and what ends up happening is it puts them at risk," he said. "Serve and protect? You’re not serving me if you’re driving 100 miles per hour and take out my aunt in the car. You’re not protecting my aunt. You’re not protecting me. So it’s kind of counterintuitive to their whole mission.”
Sachanowitz said in order to file a successful claim the criteria is very "fact-specific." Much like McManus, Sachanowitz said he agrees that the chase was unjustified.
"I don't think chase policies are prudent public policies, or prudent law enforcement places," Sachanowitz said. "It's not protecting tax dollars. If they wreck a car, we've got to replace that car. It's your tax dollars that take care of all of that. They take out three signs, we've got to replace those three signs. So, there's a lot of policy reasons, but also humanitarian reasons why it's bad policy."
The Bexar County District Attorney's Office provides a variety of resources to victims of crimes but does not immediately provide financial assistance to possible victims, like in Orozco's case.
“The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office does not provide immediate financial assistance for people who may be victims of a crime," said First Assistant District Attorney, Philip Kazen. "However, the Texas Attorney General’s Office does maintain the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund to assist victims of crime. Our Victim Assistance Division may assist victims in preparing the application for this process. In addition, if the defendant is found guilty, as part of his/her sentence, a judge may order a defendant to pay restitution to the victim.”
Orozco said Friday that she has not yet heard back from the insurance company of the owner of the vehicle the suspects were driving.