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Four killed in crash
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| Ana Uvalle Perales (left), Elizabeth Ceballos (center), and Omar Loredo (right) were three of the four killed, Dec. 26, in an auto accident on U.S. Highway 290 near Mangum Road in Houston. |
By Joe Southern, News Citizen
Christmas was barely over when in the early morning of Dec. 26, four young people from Waller County were killed in an auto accident on U.S. Highway 290 near Mangum Road in Houston.
Sisters Ana Maria Perales, 20, and Elizabeth Ceballos, 16, of Hempstead, Omar Loredo, 17, of Hockley and Leonel Lopez, 15, of Houston were killed when a pickup truck driven by 16-year-old Luis Sanchez slid off a wet road and crashed into a bridge support.
Sgt. P. Casares and Officer R. White of the Houston Police Department’s vehicular crimes division reported that the five were crowded into the cab of a white 1999 Ford F150 and were westbound on U.S. 290 at Mangum when Sanchez lost control of the truck and slammed into a concrete wall.
Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and the fourth died later at an area hospital. Sanchez was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he was treated for several broken bones and remains hospitalized.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case for any possible charges.
The initial police report said there were no signs of intoxication at the time, even though it was known to family and friends that the teenagers were returning from a Houston nightclub.
Engracia Medina, the aunt of Perales and Ceballos, said the teenagers frequented the club to dance and socialize but did not drink there.
Medina said the family, especially the girls’ mother, Rosa Uvalle, is distraught over their loss. Medina described her nieces as “happy and outgoing. They had lots of friends. They had so many dreams.”
Perales, who graduated last year from Hempstead High School, has a 3-year-old daughter, Nevaeh Ortega, who lives with her father. Ceballos was a junior at Hempstead High.
“They were my everything,” Medina said. “They lived close by. I’m the godmother of Elizabeth.”
She said the girls loved to snap pictures of each other and were often coming to her house to use her computer to get on the Internet.
She said the family lacks the funds for the funeral, which was held Wednesday. Donation jars have been set up at local businesses and an account has been opened in their name at Wells Fargo. She said any money raised beyond funeral expenses would be used in their names to help others in similar situations.
“There are no words to thank everybody who has been helping out,” she said.
The girls are survived by their fathers, Jose Ceballos and Justino Perales Juarez, their stepfather Reynaldo Alvarado Sr., their mother Rosa Uvalle, a brother, Reynaldo Alvarado Jr., and three sisters, Carla Ceballos, Stephanie Alvarado, and Brieana Alvarado.
Their funeral was held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church.
The funeral for Omar Loredo was held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church. He was the son of Leo and Marina Perez and had a brother, Ivan Leobarado Perez. He was a junior at Waller High School.
Sisters Ana Maria Perales, 20, and Elizabeth Ceballos, 16, of Hempstead, Omar Loredo, 17, of Hockley and Leonel Lopez, 15, of Houston were killed when a pickup truck driven by 16-year-old Luis Sanchez slid off a wet road and crashed into a bridge support.
Sgt. P. Casares and Officer R. White of the Houston Police Department’s vehicular crimes division reported that the five were crowded into the cab of a white 1999 Ford F150 and were westbound on U.S. 290 at Mangum when Sanchez lost control of the truck and slammed into a concrete wall.
Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and the fourth died later at an area hospital. Sanchez was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he was treated for several broken bones and remains hospitalized.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case for any possible charges.
The initial police report said there were no signs of intoxication at the time, even though it was known to family and friends that the teenagers were returning from a Houston nightclub.
Engracia Medina, the aunt of Perales and Ceballos, said the teenagers frequented the club to dance and socialize but did not drink there.
Medina said the family, especially the girls’ mother, Rosa Uvalle, is distraught over their loss. Medina described her nieces as “happy and outgoing. They had lots of friends. They had so many dreams.”
Perales, who graduated last year from Hempstead High School, has a 3-year-old daughter, Nevaeh Ortega, who lives with her father. Ceballos was a junior at Hempstead High.
“They were my everything,” Medina said. “They lived close by. I’m the godmother of Elizabeth.”
She said the girls loved to snap pictures of each other and were often coming to her house to use her computer to get on the Internet.
She said the family lacks the funds for the funeral, which was held Wednesday. Donation jars have been set up at local businesses and an account has been opened in their name at Wells Fargo. She said any money raised beyond funeral expenses would be used in their names to help others in similar situations.
“There are no words to thank everybody who has been helping out,” she said.
The girls are survived by their fathers, Jose Ceballos and Justino Perales Juarez, their stepfather Reynaldo Alvarado Sr., their mother Rosa Uvalle, a brother, Reynaldo Alvarado Jr., and three sisters, Carla Ceballos, Stephanie Alvarado, and Brieana Alvarado.
Their funeral was held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church.
The funeral for Omar Loredo was held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church. He was the son of Leo and Marina Perez and had a brother, Ivan Leobarado Perez. He was a junior at Waller High School.
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