Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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Victims of fatal labor day weekend crash attempt to move forward
Posted: 01.16.2013 at 10:54 PM
Katie Lopez

Katie Lopez is a reporter for Action 4 News.

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Her smile is frozen in time.
           
Pictures of 19-year-old Joanna Garcia hang throughout her bedroom.
           
A pile of laundry sits at the foot of the bed and an iPad remains untouched on the bed.

Her parents told Action 4 News that they have not touched their daughter's room since her death back in September.
           
Joanna and three friends were driving from Austin's Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, to the Rio Grande Valley Labor Day weekend.
           
No one inside of her Volkswagen knew what would happen next.
           
"I started making a braid in her (Joanna) hair and then someone said a joke and all started laughing," Daniel Romero remembered. "All I remember next is waking up on the floor."
            
Anthony and Daniel Romero were passengers inside Joanna’s car that night.
            
They do not remember much but have the scars to prove something terrible had happened.
            
"When I woke up the bar was right here," Daniel said as he pointed to the scar on top of his head. "It scraped my head."
            
Daniel fractured his pelvis, skull, and now has pins in his right arm.
            
Anthony suffered many cuts and bruises--both brothers are no working to rebuild their lives.
           
"I wish they were here," Daniel said as he referred to Joanna and another friend inside that vehicle. "I just try to be happy everyday and live my life to the fullest."
           
Rebuilding their lives has not been easy. Dreams they had were put on hold so they could figure out how to pay mounting medical bills and how to deal with the death of a friend.
           
"I just want justice for Joanna," Daniel said.
           
Two others from Corpus Christi were killed that day.
           
The driver accused of causing the accident, Hannah Roberts, survived.
            
Investigators believe alcohol and speeding played a factor in this triple fatality.
             
The San Patricio County District Attorney's office is still working on the case---charges should be filed soon.
       
The drivers accused of causing the accident is Hannah Roberts of Corpus Christi.

She survived...

Speed and alcohol are believed to have played a role in the accident.

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