SANDY OAKS, Texas — The survivor of a deadly hit-and-run crash is now pushing for safety improvements in her Sandy Oaks neighborhood.
Just before 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, Bexar County deputies say an Uber Eats driver struck two people on New Mathis Road.
Angele Southwell, 62, died from her injuries, while her close friend and neighbor, Michelle Washington, was rushed to BAMC.
“I got hit by the same car that she got hit by,” Washington teared up. “Nothing happened to me really. I have some staples and swelling in my leg, but I can still walk. There wasn’t even a fracture. So, that’s what’s been hard for me. Mentally, I think I am going to need help eventually.”
Washington says she would often visit her friend of 20-plus years who lived across the street.
“She always walked me home and would come to my porch where we would talk some more,” said Washington. “As she would cross the street, I would watch her. We did that all the time because we know how bad this street is. That night, by the time we heard and saw the car, it was too late. That’s how fast it was going.”
Washington says a Dodge Charger came out of nowhere, so she started waving frantically. However, the driver hit them and kept going.
Detectives arrested an Uber Eats driver less than 24 hours after the crash.
According to arrest documents, residents used Uber Eats GPS information to locate the driver at a home on Ferncroft Road in San Antonio. Documents state Kiana Pena, 21, told investigators she “saw someone waving their arms and thought someone else was laying on the roadway,” so she tried to avoid them. Pena allegedly claimed she thought she "hit a mailbox" but continued driving around the corner before noticing her mirror was missing. Deputies confirmed there was hood damage to Pena’s Dodge Charger and her rearview mirror was missing.
Southwell was pulled off the road by her husband and was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, authorities say.
Washington remembers lying in the grass near her home and watching paramedics perform CPR on her friend.
“Angele was loved by a lot of people,” said Washington. “She had two new grandbabies, and one of them is not even a year old yet. She was looking forward to one of their birthday parties this coming weekend and was showing me the outfits she bought. She was also well known. If you were selling something [in the neighborhood], she bought it … she supported people here. She spoke her mind, but she had a good heart.”
Washington told KENS 5 she does not harbor any resentment towards the driver.
“It is a hard lesson learned for her,” she said. “Parents also need to teach their kids to take responsibility. If she hadn’t taken off and tried to hide, the consequences would not have been as severe.”
While she can’t change what happened, Washington hopes this tragedy sparks change. New Mathis Road is about a 2-mile stretch with only one stop sign. There are no sidewalks and residents say there is a lack of lighting.
“Since New Mathis Road opened onto Priest Road, it became a thoroughfare for going through,” said Erik Rabe, Washington’s stepfather. “There were no stop signs added and it just got faster and faster. We had a car and truck go off the road just on this turn. [The city says] they won’t put speed bumps in because it would slow down emergency vehicles.””
Washington is now asking the City of Sandy Oaks to consider installing stop signs, more 30 MPH signs, lighting and speed bumps. She plans to take her concerns to the city council.
“I want to do this for Angele,” she said. “Because we would sit on the porch and talk about people speeding by, but didn’t do anything about it.”
Sandy Oaks Mayor Michael Martinez told KENS 5 he plans to release an official statement regarding the safety concerns along New Mathis Road.
Pena is facing vehicular homicide charges.