Family seeks justice after deadly motorcycle crash

EL PASO, Texas — A former El Paso woman says her family is seeking justice after her father died in a deadly motorcycle crash in south central El Paso earlier this year. 

Briana Wood, a former El Pasoan, says her father died while riding his motorcycle on May 14. 

An official crash report shows 59-year-old Juan Sifuentes was riding his motorcycle down Alameda Ave. that Saturday morning, while another vehicle was driving the opposite direction on the same road. Amber Valdez, 25, was the driver of that car and police say she tried to make a left-hand turn in the wrong direction of a one-way street. 

The crash report says as Valdez made the turn, Sifuentes collided with the car and ejected from his motorcycle. He sustained a serious brain injury and died at the hospital later that day. Valdez sustained no serious injuries and was cited by police for driving the wrong way and failing to yield the right-of-way. 

Wood says she understands Valdez did not purposely crash into her father, but she still feels there needs to be some accountability. 

“You should not be able to kill somebody while breaking traffic laws and get away with it,” Wood explained. 

The El Paso police department says they presented the case to the district attorney’s office and did not recommend any charges. A spokesman says the D.A. office can review the case and decide whether or not to file charges. 

ABC-7 has reached out to the D.A. office to see if they plan on filing any charges, but a spokesman says they do not comment on pending cases.

After ABC-7 reached out to the D.A. office, Wood told our station she received a call from the office saying they were going to look into her dad's case. Wood did not remember who she spoke with in the office, but she said they were planning on bringing a similar case to the grand jury for indictment. Wood says whoever she spoke with did not guarantee a case was going to happen.