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Saturday, Aug. 22, 1998
Collision kills eight in Duval County
5 women, 2 girls in one vehicle were returning from church revival
By MARY LEE GRANT
Staff WriterA 7-year-old Robstown girl who loved to dance the macarena and her mother, a cashier at the town's H-E-B, were among eight people who died late Thursday in a fiery collision between two pickups in Duval County.
Seven-year-old Esperanza ``Hopie'' Isabel Rios and her mother, Ludim Y. ``Ludy'' Vasquez, 32, were among five women and girls from the same family traveling in a pickup from a Pentecostal revival in Concepcion to Hebbronville when they were killed.
Hugo Rafael Gutierrez, 41, of Laredo was traveling north on Texas Highway 359 about three miles west of Hebbronville when a tire blew out on his 1982 Chevrolet pickup and he swerved into oncoming traffic, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported.
His truck collided with a 1997 extended-cab pickup driven by Thelma Rodriguez Vasquez, 53, of Hebbronville. Her truck rolled and caught fire, killing her and her passengers, officials said.
Gutierrez was ejected from his truck and killed. His vehicle also caught fire, officials said.
Also killed in the 10:45 p.m. accident, according to the DPS, were:
-- Dalia Ramirez, 45
-- Dina Maria Ramirez, 17
-- Annabel DeLeon, 36
-- Stephanie Ramirez, 3
Ludy Vasquez's mother-in-law, Mary Rios, described her daughter-in-law as a friendly person who had come to know many in town because of her job at an H-E-B.
``She was a good and loving mother and a very kind person. I am so sad for her other little girls. They are not taking it well.''
Vasquez's other two daughters, Amanda Blanca Rios, 11, and Rebecca Estella Rios, 9, weren't in the truck with their mother.
Mary Rios described her granddaughter Hopie as outgoing and happy. ``She loved to dance,'' Rios said. ``We have pictures of her dancing the macarena and dancing to rock 'n' roll.''
Mary Rios said that Hopie, who started third grade a week ago at Lotspiech Elementary School, always participated in talent contests at school.
Vasquez was born in Hebbronville but had spent most of her life in Robstown. She had been a cashier at H-E-B in Robstown for six years, her mother-in-law said.
She was traveling to Hebbronville from a Pentecostal church revival with her aunts Thelma Rodriguez Vasquez and Dalia Ramirez and her cousins Dina Maria Ramirez, Annabel DeLeon and Stephanie Ramirez, all of Hebbronville.
``She had always been a Pentecostal but she had only started going to these services recently,'' Rios said. ``She was very religious. She was going back to Hebbronville to stay with her family there that night.''
H-E-B manager Paul Alvarez said that store employees have been traumatized since hearing the news.
``She was a good employee and very loving and dependable,'' Alvarez said. ``She is going to be greatly missed.''
Priliciano Vasquez of Hebbronville, whose wife, Thelma, was killed in the accident, said the family often traveled in a caravan of cars and pickups to Concepcion, where about 50 attendees of Living Water Church meet each Thursday night for a prayer session.
His wife offered to drive home several female relatives in her 1997 Chevrolet extended-cab pickup so they could spend some time chatting. About three miles from home, on a remote stretch of Texas 359, Vasquez glanced in his rear-view mirror.
The truck was engulfed in flames. His wife was on the pavement.
``She was thrown out of the vehicle. Her body was shattered to pieces,'' said Pastor Juan Sanchez, who left a few minutes after Thelma Vasquez for the return trip. ``The flames engulfed her body and I couldn't do anything. All I did was pray while she was getting burned.
``All the children they left behind were running up and down screaming, `Get my mommy out!' '' Sanchez said.
Jim Hogg County Sheriff Gilberto Ybanez said he arrived at the accident scene to find Priliciano Vasquez standing in the middle of the highway.
``When I got there, he was just standing there with big eyes, crying,'' Ybanez said. ``He saw me and he hugged me. I didn't want him to get too close (to the wreck). It was something you don't want to see.''
Law enforcement officials said the accident was among the worst they had seen.
``I couldn't sleep thinking about it, it was so awful,'' Duval County Sheriff Santiago Barrera said.
In Hebbronville, purple ribbons hung Friday on the doors of the small drive-through grocery store Thelma Vasquez owned in Hebbronville.
``They're going to be missed terribly, especially by the children who lost their mothers,'' said Alma Espinoza, a niece who was among those gathered Friday at the Vasquez home.
Thirteen children survive: the Vasquezes' three, Dalia Ramirez's five, DeLeon's three and Ludim Vasquez's two.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web