Texas Woman Dies After Being Hit By Drunk Driver While Trying To Help People In A Stuck Car
Mayra Ospina, a 23-year-old woman from Texas, was declared brain dead on Tuesday, one day after she was hit by a drunk driver. According to KHOU, the incidents leading to Mayra’s death happened Monday morning.
Mayra and her boyfriend Luis Ramirez were reportedly traveling in their car when they saw another vehicle with a group of people trapped inside it in a ditch on the side of the Barker Cypress Road in Houston.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez later confirmed that Mayra and Luis quickly stopped to check on the status of the passengers in the stuck car. They were later joined by another group of good samaritans.
Even as the group was making plans to haul the crashed car from the ditch, a suspected drunk driver — later identified as 26-year-old Zachary Castro — slammed into them with his pickup truck.
The incident left three people hurt. Of the three, Mayra received the worst injuries and was admitted to a local hospital. Her boyfriend Luis and another person were also taken to a hospital, albeit with less severe injuries. Luis is still in the ICU, while the condition of the third victim is reported as stable.
A total of five vehicles were left damaged in the crash.
According to Cameron Neff, who witnessed the crash, he and Mayra were part of a small group that had stopped to assist the people who were inside the crashed car.
.. 23 year-old Mayra Ospina’s family just shared these photos with me. She remains on a respirator after being declared brain dead. She was struck by a suspected drunk driver while trying to help a possibly injured driver. Mayra’s bf, Luis, is still in ICU #khou11 #htownrush pic.twitter.com/E9QbHJzf94
— Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) January 29, 2020
Cameron was unhurt in the crash but recalled hearing a scream and a loud noise. He also saw Castro’s car coming straight at them. In an interview with a local TV station, Cameron expressed his feelings on the situation.
“We were good people wanting to help. My advice to anybody in a similar situation is, nothing good ever happens after midnight.”
Castro, who — according to police — was drinking that night, was first charged with intoxication manslaughter. Following Mayra’s death, authorities updated the charges to two counts of intoxication assault and one count of intoxication manslaughter.
Mayra’s family was left devastated following her death. One of six siblings, Mayra and her brother Eric Ospina only recently got promotions at their jobs and had made plans to pay off their mother’s debt.
An inconsolable Eric told reporters that Mayra was taken from them just one day after the siblings made the plan. He was happy they met each other one final time before the accident.
The family, in the meantime, set up a GoFundMe account for both Mayra and Luis.
Drunk driving has been the cause of many accidents in the past. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 people die every day in the U.S in motor vehicle crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver.
