SAN ANTONIO -- It's been a year and a half since 18-month-old Ava Lopez was hit and nearly killed by an alleged drunk driver on the North Side. But the driver who hit her is still free.
"I don't understand it at all," Ava's mom Traci Lopez told News 4 WOAI. "As far as I've seen and heard, she continues to to live as she lived life before."
Julie Bronson, 42, is accused of driving drunk, hitting Traci and her two daughters in their yard in April of last year, and taking off after the accident. Bronson lives just down the street from the Lopez family.
Traci's daughter, Ava, almost died that day.
"She was hit head on, basically, flipped in the air and came back on this woman's windshield, and flipped over the back of the car," explained Traci.
Ava's brain was swollen, and doctors held little hope.
"Doctors basically told my husband and I the chances of her surviving are very small," Traci recalled.
Ava survived, but she's now legally blind and in therapy five days a week. Her mom is reminded on a daily basis that Ava will never be the healthy little girl she was before that tragic day.
Bronson bonded out of jail the same week of the accident. Traci told us Bronson never apologized.
When Traci recently saw Bronson out shopping, she said nothing to her. She said her focus is on her daughter Ava. Traci also told us she believes she'll receive some peace when justice is finally served.
I checked with the district attorney's office and was told a hearing on the case is set for December 8th. We'll continue to follow this story and let you know what happens.
