SAN ANTONIO – Sorting through old photographs, Manuel Mendoza’s family said one thing about their son never changed in his 20 years of life.
“He always had a smile on his face,” Stefanie Duran, his mother, said. “He was just so special. You could see it. It radiates from his pictures.”
Mendoza died Sept. 25 in a car crash on Interstate 35 by a construction zone near the Judson Road exit. San Antonio police said the car Mendoza was a passenger in hit an 18-wheeler.
He died that night, and three others were taken to the hospital.
Mendoza’s family said they only learned what happened to Mendoza the next morning.
“My heart sank,” Duran said. “(It was) my worst nightmare.”
One week ago, Mendoza’s family held his funeral. Duran said she’s sharing his story in the hopes of other young adults using caution while driving.
“You have the power to control what happens on the roadways,” Duran said. “There’s no coming back from dying.”
As this family mourns, they said their son will never be forgotten.
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