One and a half decades after a deadly crash claimed the lives of four teenage girls, the families of the victims again demanding justice, saying time and distance have only deepened their pain.
Crime Stoppers of Houston, alongside the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the victims’ families, held a press conference Friday to bring renewed attention to the unresolved 2010 crash and the international fugitive accused of causing it.
For the first time, Crime Stoppers publicly debuted a deeply personal video created in partnership with the families, offering an emotional look at the lasting toll the case has taken and the lives cut short.
Investigators say the crash happened on July 19, 2010, along the East Freeway.
17-year-old Roshanda Raleigh, 13-year-olds Avianca Cortez, and Detrihanna Davis were riding in a Ford Expedition, when authorities say Sajjan Timoshina, 25, ran a red light and slammed into their vehicle.
Raleigh and Cortez died at the scene. Davis later died at the hospital.
14-year-old Benesha Davis—Detrihanna’s sister—survived the crash but died by suicide one month later. Family members and advocates say the loss of her sister and survivor’s guilt played a devastating role.
“She survived the crash, but she did not survive the pain,” said Andy Kahan, Director of Victim Services for Crime Stoppers of Houston. “That makes four lives lost, not three.”
Timoshina was charged with three counts of intoxicated manslaughter, but he fled the country before he could be arrested.
Authorities believe he returned to Nepal, where he remains a free man to this day.
“He has been living free in his native Nepal longer than these girls lived on this planet,” Kahn said. “He does not deserve that freedom.”
Crime Stoppers emphasized they are not asking for tips, saying law enforcement knows where the suspect is. Instead, the focus is on applying public and political pressure to bring him back.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the case has followed him for more than a decade, personally and professionally.
“I was on the call-out team that night in 2010,” Teare said. “I vividly remember this case. I remember when he fled like a coward before we could file charges.”
Teare said when he took over vehicular crimes in 2017, this was the first case he revisited. He confirmed the suspect is still believed to be in Nepal and that an Interpol Red Notice remains active.
“We know where he is. The Nepalese government knows where he is,” Teare said. “What we need now is action.”
Officials acknowledged the case has been complicated by the lack of a formal extradition treaty with Nepal.
While Nepal has extradited other suspects to the U.S. in the past, Teare called the inaction in this case especially painful.
“These families have watched other people be extradited from that country — just not this defendant,” Teare said. “That is unacceptable.”
Teare added the suspect now faces six charges, including three counts of intoxication manslaughter and three counts of manslaughter.
“My office will never stop looking for ways to bring him back,” he said. “This case still sits on my desk.”
Family members spoke emotionally about the years without closure, the milestones missed, and the weight of unanswered questions.
Roxanne Cortez, Avianca’s sister, described preparing her sister for a funeral instead of a future.
“Instead of school dances, graduations and weddings, I had to prepare my sister for her funeral,” she said. “That heartbreak does not fade.”
She called on federal leaders to act.
“This is unacceptable. It is unjust,” Cortez said. “It is time for him to be brought back to the United States to face trial.”
Crime Stoppers and the families are now calling on members of Congress, federal officials, and the Nepalese government to intervene.
“This is not a manhunt,” Teare said. “This is simply doing what’s right.”
As the press conference concluded, organizers said this marks only the beginning of a renewed public effort to force accountability — no matter how many years have passed.
“We will never give up,” Kahn said. “Their lives mattered, and their stories will not be forgotten.