SAN ANTONIO – The only person involved in a fatal drunk driving wreck that wasn’t drinking that August 2018 night was killed.
Mario Velasquez, 22, was the designated driver as he and four friends visited a couple of bars on the night of Aug. 9, 2018.
As they left a bar in the 6500 block of Loop 1604, their car was struck broadside by an SUV driven by Rosalinda Olalde, who is on trial facing intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault charges.
According to prosecutors, Olalde veered from the Loop 1604 access road and onto the sidewalk, where she struck Velasquez’s car as he attempted to exit onto the access road.
“I remember waking up, and I was sitting right here on the side, like in the ditch,” Guendy Murrillo testified Wednesday as she pointed to a photograph of the crash scene.
Trial begins for woman accused of driving drunk on sidewalk, killing motorist
Murrillo was a backseat passenger in Velasquez’s car and suffered shoulder and head injuries in the crash.
Luis Aguilar was riding in the front passenger and, like Murrillo, was injured in the crash.
“I just feel, like, a huge impact,” Aguilar testified. “And then I feel myself, I guess, going out of consciousness, but still conscious, and then just waking up.”
Aguilar said he managed to get back to the car and found Velazquez pinned behind the wheel.
“Something in me — I just knew he wasn’t there,” Aguilar said in court.
Paramedics were able to get Velasquez from the car and worked for over 20 minutes to save his life.
“We decided to continue with the CPR and hopefully stabilize him and prevent him from going into full cardiac arrest,” paramedic Randy Kruchak testified.
The paramedics were unsuccessful, and Velasquez was pronounced dead at the scene.
If she is convicted, Olalde faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Testimony is expected to continue Thursday in Judge Jennifer Pena’s 290th District Court.