A nursing student at the University of the Incarnate Word was killed over the weekend after witnesses say his car struck a median on IH-35 N.
Selma Police said in a press release that officers were dispatched for a report of a single-vehicle accident around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, in the 15400 block of IH 35 N.
Officers found an unresponsive 22-year-old male in the driver’s seat.
A spokesperson for UIW identified the victim as Joseph Banales — a nursing student and a junior at UIW.
“The family is devastated and at a loss for why this happened,” said Banales’ godmother, Lisa Amato.
She told KSAT Monday that Banales was a member of the ROTC program at UIW, along with his twin sister.
“His mother and father, four brothers and sister were also military, and Joseph wanted to be just like his parents,” Amato said.
It remains unclear why the victim’s vehicle lost control, but medical personnel who arrived at the scene said Banales was found with injuries to the back of his head.
Amato said Banales was driving home after dropping off his girlfriend at her house following a military ball. His family believes he was the victim of a road rage incident.
“His girlfriend was on the phone with him. She heard the engine rev up and heard a bang, and then the phone went dead. His foot went off the accelerator, and he hit the median,” said Amato. “Police have a partial plate number description of the car. We’re hoping that with the media publicity that they’ll find who did this because that person got to go home to his family and Joseph didn’t.”
Witnesses told police Banales’ vehicle almost struck another vehicle before it hit the median.
“His father is an ER nurse, and he was working that night at the hospital where he would have been taken. That’s how his dad would have found out about the accident if he had survived,” Amato told KSAT.
Banales was pronounced dead at the scene and taken to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
UIW hosted a Mass on Monday to pray for Banales’ family and honor a student who lost his life too soon. Tears, grief and sadness filled a chapel on campus.
“It’s shocking and very raw right now, and the students are very moved,” said Sister Walter Maher, UIW VP of Mission in Ministry. “The student leaders this morning were remembering him to me. He’s witnessed as a wonderful young human being that shows us how to live.”
“We always knew he was special to us, but it’s so such a blessing to see how special he was to his peers,” said Amato. “He loved serving and leading and just helping other people. And that’s so great to hear his friends say how much he meant to them.”
Sister Maher said grief and spiritual counselors will be available for as long as needed for students and staff trying to process Joseph’s death.
An investigation is ongoing. More details will be provided once they become available.