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‘I wish I could bring him home’: Mother of teen killed in hit-and-run anxiously awaits arrest of driver

Joshua Villa Jr., 15, was killed while walking on shoulder of Highway 90 in October

SAN ANTONIO – It’s a scenario Cheryl Narvaez thinks about often.

Her 15-year-old son, Joshua Villa Jr., was killed in a hit-and-run pedestrian incident on the West Side.

According to San Antonio police, Joshua was walking on the night of Oct. 30 along the solid white line of the shoulder lane in the eastbound lanes of Highway 90 before Acme Road when a vehicle hit him. The driver did not stop to render aid, police said.

“I just feel my son was thrown the way he got hit,” Narvaez said. “Nobody deserves to be left just like that in the ground.”

Narvaez said she not only lost her oldest son, but the man of the house.

“He always tried to make sure that his brothers were well-taken care of. He always tried to be that father figure for them, but then again he was still a kid,” Narvaez said.

She said Joshua was playful and always joking around to try and cheer others up, which often worked.

“He’ll grab his shirt and twist it inside out, acting like he was a girl,” Narvaez said.

Narvaez said it’s those moments of Joshua being silly and the times he wanted her attention that she misses most.

“I wish I could like, bring him back, just bring him home,” she said.

Narvaez adds that, like most teens, Joshua loved sports and was trying to figure out what he wanted to do in life.

“He would always change it up, that he was going to go to college or that he was going to go to the Army, and it just got cut short,” she said.

Narvaez and other family members are now anxiously waiting for the driver to be arrested.

Police said there were no witnesses but the incident remains under investigation.

An arrest would result in a charge of failure to stop and render aid resulting in death.


About the Authors
John Paul Barajas headshot

John Paul Barajas is a reporter at KSAT 12. Previously, he worked at KRGV 5 in the Rio Grande Valley. He has a degree from the University of Houston. In his free time, he likes to get a workout in, spend time on the water and check out good eats and drinks.

Adam Barraza headshot

Adam Barraza is a photojournalist at KSAT 12 and an El Paso native. He interned at KVIA, the local ABC affiliate, while still in high school. He then moved to San Antonio and, after earning a degree from San Antonio College and the University of the Incarnate Word, started working in news. He’s also a diehard Dodgers fan and an avid sneakerhead.

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