sometimes i am just saddened by the things that go on in the messed up world. we're at "war," people are getting beheaded, children are getting abused, idiots are falling asleep at the wheel and killing 10 people* in one accident... and now today ... a new low. i'm not sure if i'm disgusted, saddened or just plain mad! where do children learn this stuff? maybe i was just a naive child, but i didn't even know what sex was at age 11.
*Driver jailed in 10 road deaths
By David Sedeno and Bill Hanna
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
Candelario Esparza was tired after a long day roofing a shopping mall in Sherman on Monday, so as he and his friends and relatives settled in for the drive home to Dallas he decided to sleep in the pickup's camper.
The decision probably saved his life.
Esparza survived a horrific traffic accident Monday near Sherman that killed his two uncles, a cousin and two friends and left another cousin clinging to life.
Five members of a McKinney family traveling in a sport utility vehicle were also killed when a semitrailer truck crossed a grassy median on U.S. 75 and hit the pickup and the SUV.
The driver of the big rig, Miroslaw Janusz Jozwiak, 45, was arraigned Tuesday on 10 counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Jozwiak, a Polish national from Daytona Beach, Fla., has been treated for broken teeth and some neck bruises. He is being held in the Grayson County Jail with bond set at $200,000 on each count. If convicted of the state jail felony, he could be sentenced to up to two years in jail and fined $10,000 for each count.
Jozwiak almost broke down when he heard the charges, Justice of the Peace Greg Middents said Tuesday.
"Basically he kept saying over and over he was not guilty," Middents said.
The driver of the SUV, Lisa Wood Martin, 32, had been on a shopping trip with her mother, Betsy Wood, 72, and three young children: Chance Martin, 4, Brock Martin, 2, and infant Reid Martin, who was born July 26.
Lisa Wood Martin's husband, Michael, heard about the wreck from news reports and tried to call Sherman police to learn whether it was his family that was involved, Sherman police Lt. Todd Smithers said Tuesday. Michael Martin eventually drove to Sherman and identified the victims at the scene.
Relatives and friends at Wood's home declined to comment Tuesday. Lisa Wood Martin was a former kindergarten teacher at Eddins Elementary School in the McKinney school district, said Diana Gulotta, a district spokeswoman.
"The teachers that knew her said she was always enthusiastic and lifted up everyone's spirits," Gulotta said. "Friends described her as a friendly person and great teacher."
A memorial service for the Martins is scheduled for Thursday morning at the High Pointe Church of Christ. A memorial service for Wood is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the church.
The five killed in the pickup were identified as Manuel Esparza, 39; J. Marcos Esparza, 41; Hector Zapata, 33; Joel Mendoza Ruiz, 36; and German Esparza Velazquez, 19.
Candelario Esparza's cousin, Javier Esparza, also survived the crash. Both were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
Sherman fire Capt. Doug Blackburn said it was surprising that anyone survived the fiery wreck.
"It was a miracle, an absolute miracle that we had survivors," Blackburn said.
Police said there was no sign that the 18-wheeler had braked, although there were skid marks on the freeway. Investigators later said they were "yaw marks" from the trailer swerving back and forth.
U.S. 75, which runs north from Dallas into Oklahoma, was reopened Tuesday after investigators spent most of the night trying to determine what happened. Smoke billowed from the crash site for up to six hours after the accident.
"By far this is the worst accident I've seen since I've been here," said Blackburn, a 15-year veteran of the Sherman Fire Department.
Candelario Esparza said in a telephone interview from Parkland Hospital that he had recently begun working for the roofing company with his two uncles, Manuel and Marcos Esparza.
"When they told me that there were five people who died in the truck and that another one was barely alive, I said, 'No. It can't be,' " Esparza said.
"When we started back to Dallas, I went inside the camper. My uncle said, 'Come up in here, there's plenty of room,' but I said, 'No.'
"I was asleep when the accident happened," he said. "When I woke up, I was still there inside the camper. I looked around and I saw the trailer and I saw a body and I tried to get up, but someone told me, 'Don't move, don't move. The ambulance is coming.'
"I remember being very calm, but when the firefighters came I asked them what had happened to my uncles and cousins, and they said that two had died. When I was in the ambulance, I asked again and they said that three had died. I could not believe it. I kept saying, 'It can't be. It can't be.'
"I guess the camper saved my life," Esparza said.
"When I got to the hospital in Sherman, they told me that five of them had died and one was at Parkland and they said he was bad," he said.
On Tuesday, the Esparza families were waiting to hear whether a state crime victims fund would help defray some of the estimated $10,000 expense for the burial of the two patriarchs and of Marcos Esparza's son, German, in their tiny village of Ahualulco in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí.
The bodies of the five men were sent to Calvario Funeral Home in Oak Cliff, where they will be prepared and transported to Mexico City and then to their village.
Marcos Esparza's widow, Brigida Esparza, 35, said in a interview at a relative's home that her husband was a loving and hardworking man. In the past few months, he would leave their home in Oak Cliff about 3 a.m. to begin the commute with other relatives and friends to Sherman.
She said her husband and her son were waiting for permanent work and residency documents.
"He was a marvelous husband," she said.
She said she didn't know how she would provide for a 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.
"I don't have the money to keep paying my house. I guess I'm going to lose it," she said. "I just want justice done, that he pay."
She said she is also worried about her brother-in-law's widow, who has six children ages 13 years to 8 months.
"We all need help, but she needs it more," she said.
Staff Writer Nathaniel Jones Contributed to This Report, Which Includes Material From the Associated Press.; Bill Hanna Reported From Sherman, and David Sedeño Reported From Dallas.
From: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/9729081.htm
*Driver jailed in 10 road deaths
By David Sedeno and Bill Hanna
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
Candelario Esparza was tired after a long day roofing a shopping mall in Sherman on Monday, so as he and his friends and relatives settled in for the drive home to Dallas he decided to sleep in the pickup's camper.
The decision probably saved his life.
Esparza survived a horrific traffic accident Monday near Sherman that killed his two uncles, a cousin and two friends and left another cousin clinging to life.
Five members of a McKinney family traveling in a sport utility vehicle were also killed when a semitrailer truck crossed a grassy median on U.S. 75 and hit the pickup and the SUV.
The driver of the big rig, Miroslaw Janusz Jozwiak, 45, was arraigned Tuesday on 10 counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Jozwiak, a Polish national from Daytona Beach, Fla., has been treated for broken teeth and some neck bruises. He is being held in the Grayson County Jail with bond set at $200,000 on each count. If convicted of the state jail felony, he could be sentenced to up to two years in jail and fined $10,000 for each count.
Jozwiak almost broke down when he heard the charges, Justice of the Peace Greg Middents said Tuesday.
"Basically he kept saying over and over he was not guilty," Middents said.
The driver of the SUV, Lisa Wood Martin, 32, had been on a shopping trip with her mother, Betsy Wood, 72, and three young children: Chance Martin, 4, Brock Martin, 2, and infant Reid Martin, who was born July 26.
Lisa Wood Martin's husband, Michael, heard about the wreck from news reports and tried to call Sherman police to learn whether it was his family that was involved, Sherman police Lt. Todd Smithers said Tuesday. Michael Martin eventually drove to Sherman and identified the victims at the scene.
Relatives and friends at Wood's home declined to comment Tuesday. Lisa Wood Martin was a former kindergarten teacher at Eddins Elementary School in the McKinney school district, said Diana Gulotta, a district spokeswoman.
"The teachers that knew her said she was always enthusiastic and lifted up everyone's spirits," Gulotta said. "Friends described her as a friendly person and great teacher."
A memorial service for the Martins is scheduled for Thursday morning at the High Pointe Church of Christ. A memorial service for Wood is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the church.
The five killed in the pickup were identified as Manuel Esparza, 39; J. Marcos Esparza, 41; Hector Zapata, 33; Joel Mendoza Ruiz, 36; and German Esparza Velazquez, 19.
Candelario Esparza's cousin, Javier Esparza, also survived the crash. Both were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
Sherman fire Capt. Doug Blackburn said it was surprising that anyone survived the fiery wreck.
"It was a miracle, an absolute miracle that we had survivors," Blackburn said.
Police said there was no sign that the 18-wheeler had braked, although there were skid marks on the freeway. Investigators later said they were "yaw marks" from the trailer swerving back and forth.
U.S. 75, which runs north from Dallas into Oklahoma, was reopened Tuesday after investigators spent most of the night trying to determine what happened. Smoke billowed from the crash site for up to six hours after the accident.
"By far this is the worst accident I've seen since I've been here," said Blackburn, a 15-year veteran of the Sherman Fire Department.
Candelario Esparza said in a telephone interview from Parkland Hospital that he had recently begun working for the roofing company with his two uncles, Manuel and Marcos Esparza.
"When they told me that there were five people who died in the truck and that another one was barely alive, I said, 'No. It can't be,' " Esparza said.
"When we started back to Dallas, I went inside the camper. My uncle said, 'Come up in here, there's plenty of room,' but I said, 'No.'
"I was asleep when the accident happened," he said. "When I woke up, I was still there inside the camper. I looked around and I saw the trailer and I saw a body and I tried to get up, but someone told me, 'Don't move, don't move. The ambulance is coming.'
"I remember being very calm, but when the firefighters came I asked them what had happened to my uncles and cousins, and they said that two had died. When I was in the ambulance, I asked again and they said that three had died. I could not believe it. I kept saying, 'It can't be. It can't be.'
"I guess the camper saved my life," Esparza said.
"When I got to the hospital in Sherman, they told me that five of them had died and one was at Parkland and they said he was bad," he said.
On Tuesday, the Esparza families were waiting to hear whether a state crime victims fund would help defray some of the estimated $10,000 expense for the burial of the two patriarchs and of Marcos Esparza's son, German, in their tiny village of Ahualulco in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí.
The bodies of the five men were sent to Calvario Funeral Home in Oak Cliff, where they will be prepared and transported to Mexico City and then to their village.
Marcos Esparza's widow, Brigida Esparza, 35, said in a interview at a relative's home that her husband was a loving and hardworking man. In the past few months, he would leave their home in Oak Cliff about 3 a.m. to begin the commute with other relatives and friends to Sherman.
She said her husband and her son were waiting for permanent work and residency documents.
"He was a marvelous husband," she said.
She said she didn't know how she would provide for a 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.
"I don't have the money to keep paying my house. I guess I'm going to lose it," she said. "I just want justice done, that he pay."
She said she is also worried about her brother-in-law's widow, who has six children ages 13 years to 8 months.
"We all need help, but she needs it more," she said.
Staff Writer Nathaniel Jones Contributed to This Report, Which Includes Material From the Associated Press.; Bill Hanna Reported From Sherman, and David Sedeño Reported From Dallas.
From: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/9729081.htm
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