Mother grieves death of two children, their father

Mother grieves death of two children, their father
WRECK KILLS 4
June 20, 2012 9:54 PM
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ The Brownsville Herald

A Brownsville mother is mourning the death of her two young sons and their father in a three-vehicle accident near Hallettsville, east of San Antonio in Lavaca County.

Anabel Salazar said the boys’ father, Felipe Garcia, 39, was taking their sons, Anthony, 10, and Brandon, 9, to a Van Halen concert in San Antonio when they were killed Tuesday afternoon.

Also killed in the accident was Christine Salazar, 42, of McAllen, who was riding in the SUV with the Garcias. Authorities identified her as Garcia’s girlfriend.

The boys started liking Van Halen after playing the group’s Guitar Hero video game and were excited when their father told them he would take them to the concert, their mother said.

At first they thought they would go to the show in Dallas.

“But they decided they were going to go to the one in San Antonio because it was closer, but they didn’t make it,” she said Wednesday.

Salazar said she and Garcia at one time were engaged but had ended their relationship. The boys were spending their summer vacation with their dad, she said.

Anthony and Brandon were students at Ben Brite Elementary School, where their mother is a pre-kindergarten teacher. Anthony was going into fifth grade, Brandon into fourth.

“They would go with me to school every morning and come back with me. They were good students. Anthony was a smart kid. He would always get medals. Brandon was smart, too. He was always smiling,” Salazar said, trying to maintain her composure.

“Anthony liked collecting Star Wars stuff and Brandon liked collecting Angry Birds stuff and Pokemon.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety reported that Felipe Garcia was driving a Ford Expedition and lost control of the vehicle, which went into a sideways skid, crossed the center strip and collided with an 18-wheeler.

“It was a very hard impact. The truck struck the passenger side of the SUV,” Trooper Gerald Bryant said.

The collision caused the tractor-trailer rig to hit a Honda CRV. The people in that vehicle, who are from the Dallas/Plano area, sustained minor injuries.

The highway was slick with rain and thus authorities could not gauge the exact speed of the Ford Expedition, Bryant said. The cause of the accident would likely be given as driving at an unsafe speed, he said.

Garcia was a member of the National Guard and had served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He currently was working at the Amador R. Rodriguez Juvenile Boot Camp in San Benito.

“Their dad was a good dad to them. He was a good dad to his boys,” Salazar said Wednesday of Garcia.

She said her sons were looking forward to coming back to Brownsville on Friday because they were going to help with the birthday party for their younger half-brother, Matthew Montoya. Matthew will be 1 year old.

“I told them they were going to take care of the candy bags and they got all excited,” Salazar said through tears.

“I am thinking that God gave me my little one for a reason because he knew he was going to take my other two. He (Matthew) is the one I am being strong for right now,” she said. “I just need prayers.”

Funeral arrangements for Anthony and Brandon are pending under the direction of Buena Vista Funeral Home.