The families of two of the five Dallas women killed by a wrong-way driver in Central Texas are opening up about their loss and search for answers.
The families of Thalia Salinas, Ruby Cruz, Jaqueline Velasco, Alysea Valadez and Desire Cervantes are demanding transparency and accountability, especially as information emerges about the suspect now charged in their deaths.
“They were just five happy girls, just so young. They were all so beautiful,” said Kaleb Salinas.
For two weeks, they have grappled with unbearable grief and unanswered questions.
How and why did a man hauling horses in Burnet County cross into their lane and smash into their car, killing all five young women inside?
“I just want the truth to come out,” said Ana Cruz, Ruby’s little sister. “I want justice. These girls deserve justice.”
Two of the victims’ families spoke with members of the media on Friday following the arrest this week of Kody Lane Talley.
Talley is now charged with five counts of manslaughter.
According to the DPS crash report, “[Talley] failed to control speed” as he sped down U.S. 281 in the wrong direction on the afternoon of July 25, striking the side of one car before smashing into the SUV.
The fiery crash occurred in Burnet County, just outside of Austin.
The five victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the crash report, “[Talley] absconded from the scene after refusing medical attention.”
When asked on Friday to expand on this and whether Talley was believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, DPS Sgt. Billy Ray said, “The details in the driver absconding the crash scene are still being investigated. Because this crash investigation is still active and ongoing, no further details will be released at this time. When these details are available for release, we will provide an update.”
“I’m also confused as to why they let him leave,” said Thalia’s brother Kaleb Salinas.
Sal Salinas, Thalia’s eldest brother, told NBC 5 they received no information from authorities in the hours and days following the tragic incident.
Three families banded together and retained legal counsel through John Watts and the J. Alexander Law Group, which has been digging into Talley’s past in search of answers.
One of Sal’s biggest questions is why and how Talley was allowed or able to leave the scene of such a violent crash without anyone knowing or intervening.
“To our knowledge, no sobriety test was done, no anything. They just took his ID and he left,” he said.
NBC 5 has found through online court records that Talley has three previous DWIs: in 2011 in Cedar Park, in 2014 in Williamson County, and in 2015 in Cedar Park.
The victims’ families question whether Talley should have been behind the wheel at all, not to mention behind the wheel of a pickup truck hauling a “Platinum Manufacturing LLC horse trailer loaded with horses,” according to the crash report.
“As I’ve been saying, it was only a matter of time before something happened, and unfortunately, our five families were the ones that got the bad end of it,” said Sal.
Gone is Ruby Cruz, always the happiest person in any room.
“She was my everything,” said little sister Ana Cruz through tears. “She was my other half. I know everything about her.”
Thalia Salinas was adored by her two big brothers and her parents.
“It was well known she was the baby in the family,” said Sal with a smirk.
No doubt, she was a daddy’s girl.
Thalia doted over her one-year-old nephew. She loved the beach and anything on the water.
She had just celebrated her 23rd birthday, and the celebration was supposed to continue with her dear friends and family at a lake house in Central Texas.
The inseparable young women were traveling in a Mercedes-Benz SUV.
Sadly, her family was also driving toward the lake house. Sal said, “[Thalia] was in front of us for probably 30 minutes. The map said there was a crash, so we knew nothing about it. We went around the highway and took the backroads.”
They had no idea the reported crash involved Thalia and her friends.
Kaleb Salinas’ home in Dallas used to be the “headquarters” where the young women met.
The house is now filled with flowers, angel figurines, and extended family members wearing rosaries around their necks.
Kaleb is left to reflect on the last time he saw his sweet, smart, beautiful little sister and her excited friends.
“I gave each one of them their last hug,” he said. “I’m glad I did because I’m usually on a Zoom call.”
For Ana, the last phone call with her sister hours before the tragic loss is hard to bear.
The two always knew where the other was through their phones’ location service.
Ruby quickly called Ana after noticing her location showed her at the DFW Airport.
Ana told her big sister she was at a job interview.
“She was so glad,” said Ana. “She said we’ll talk about it when I come back home. I told her I loved her, and she told me she loved me too. And that was it. That was it.”
Great Job Maria Guerrero & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Source link for sharing this story.
