Father of teens killed in crash wants harsh punishment

Woman charged in deadly crash makes first court appearance

HOUSTON – The father of two teens killed during a hit-and-run accident did not mask his anger toward the woman now charged in connection with that crash.

Joe Suarez lost a daughter and a son during a Sunday morning crash at the intersection of Woodridge and the South Loop East.

"I'm not even going to call her a lady, this monster," Suarez said, referring to Raquel Vasquez Hernandez. "My daughter was crying for help and she turned her back."

Hernandez, 23, is charged with failure to stop and render aid. Police said Hernandez ran away after running a red light and slamming into a car carrying six teens.

Court records show Hernandez was later found by police hiding in a friend's closet. Police said Hernandez admitted running off because she "was scared, had been drinking and had traffic tickets."

Suarez' daughter Allyssa Munoz, 19, and his son, Brett Suarez, 15, were killed. Suarez' daughter Kristen, 17, survived the crash. Carlos Cisneros, 14, was also killed.

Suarez said Munoz leaves behind a 16-month-old daughter.

"How are we going to explain that to my grand baby?" Suarez said. "She ruined my grand baby's life, she ruined my daughter's life."

Veronica Amarro and her husband were one of the first to find the kids. Amarro said her husband initially tried to shield her from the horror.

"He didn't want me to see anybody there, but Kristen was asking for help so I told him 'I'm going to help her,'" Amarro said.

Amarro comforted the teens as she dialed 911 and then used Kristen Suarez' phone to call her father.

"I hope we get justice for this because they were just kids," said Amarro.

Shortly after Hernandez appeared before a judge, her estranged husband told Local 2 she told him her brakes failed and she ran because she has no license, was worried she would be deported and was afraid she would never see her kids again.

Suarez said he does not care what reason Hernandez had for leaving the accident.

"It's not human, it's inhumane because she left them for dead," said Suarez.

Local 2 also spoke with a person who gave specific details when claiming to have seen Hernandez drinking at a nearby club before the accident. This person asked us not use their name for fear of retaliation, but said it appeared Hernandez was celebrating a birthday.


About the Author:

Award winning investigative journalist who joined KPRC 2 in July 2000. Husband and father of the Master of Disaster and Chaos Gremlin. “I don’t drink coffee to wake up, I wake up to drink coffee.”