3 families now tell ABC-7 they believe loved ones are among 7 victims killed in El Paso crash
EL PASO, Texas -- A memorial at the downtown El Paso car crash site where 7 people were killed is starting to grow. The family and friends of 16-year-old Yadira Barrera and 19-year-old Jorge Acosta told ABC-7 on Saturday that they believe their loved ones were among those killed in the crash.
RELATED STORY: Border Patrol says El Paso car crash that killed 7 stemmed from human smuggling case
“She was a person that could bring light into your day," said Yadira's stepfather, Hilario Valeriano. "Even when you were sad she could make you happy.”
Valeriano is still waiting for more information from El Paso police, who are leading the investigation into Thursday's deadly wreck that stemmed from a Border Patrol chase of a car that agents claim may have been involved in human smuggling.
Valeriano said the Medical Examiner's Office told him said it's too early to determine if his step-daughter was among the deceased, "but its looking and its pointing that way to maybe that it is her,” he said.
Meanwhile, the girlfriend of Jorge Acosta told ABC-7 he was a kind person who leaves behind a one-year-old daughter. She said he had a tattoo of his infant and officers told family members that one of the crash victims had such a tattoo.
“I can't believe it still, I just don’t think it could have been him,” said Acosta's girlfriend Ingrid Rodriguez. “Its hard knowing it’s him, leaving behind his kid. It's hard.”
On Friday, the mother of 18-year-old Gustavo Cervantes told ABC-7 that she believed her son was also among those killed.
Cervantes said she went to the crash site early Thursday and described her son's tattoos to an El Paso officer on scene. She said the officer confirmed with her there was a body with tattoos that matched her description.
Cervantes was at the crash site again Saturday and told ABC-7 she hoped she would be getting confirmation on her son's death by Monday.
The U.S. Border Patrol chief for the El Paso sector, Gloria Chavez, said Saturday that the crash was the result of a human smuggling attempt.
Of those crash victims identified so far by El Paso police, they have all been between the ages of 16 and 25.
