SAN ANTONIO - An overnight accident on the south side leaves two people dead. The name of the man driving the motorcycle hasn't been released. But the van he hit had four people inside, including the second victim, Denise Zapata.
The Zapata family is speaking out tonight to let people know more about Denise and the family she left behind. They believe the van she was riding in was hit by a man who may have been drinking and driving and they hope her story will help others.
"She was a very giving person. She gave of herself. Her kids were her life,” Bernice Smith, Denise’s sister, told us.
Less than 24-hours after her sister's death, Bernice Smith has all sorts of emotions running through her mind.
"She's not going to get to be a grandma,” Smith said. “She's not going to get to see her kids get married or have children or anything. It's senseless."
Denise and her family were driving to a friend’s house last night after playing in a co-ed softball game. Police tell us they were on Charlotte Road passing West Malone Street on the south side when a man on a motorcycle ran a stop sign and t-boned the Zapata's van. The hit was so hard it sent the van skidding into a nearby yard.
"Investigators believe that speed was a factor in this case on the part of the motorcycle,” Officer Matt Porter explained.
But after visiting the accident scene last night, Denise's family and friends believe speed wasn't the only factor in last night's accident.
"We understand that he was drunk, the motorcyclist,” Bernice noted. “That's just, that's just worse than anything. I can understand if it was just an accident. But to be drinking and driving in this day and age, when you know what can happen? Not only did he take his life, that was his prerogative to drive drunk, but my sister is gone because of it."
Denise Zapata was 42-years-old and leaves behind a husband and four children. Denise's children who were involved in the accident were released from the hospital. But her husband is still being treated.
Police have not confirmed whether alcohol was a factor in last night's accident.
