Family of woman killed in Fort Worth crash with drunk driver still can't believe she's gone
FORT WORTH, Texas - Friends and family of a young woman killed by a suspected drunk driver gathered Friday to honor her memory.
About 100 people gathered for a vigil along Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth at sunset, which the family says was one of the favorite spots of 22-year-old Brianna Lopez.
Lopez was killed in a crash the Texas Department of Public Safety says was caused by a suspected drunk driver in Fort Worth.
Several in the group shared memories of Lopez and how she touched their lives, including a close friend who had known her since high school.
Brianna Lopez
"She was never mad," said friend Dianeli Rodriguez. "And if she was mad, she would get happy in ten minutes. She was an amazing friend. She loved babies. It’s not fair."
The suspect's bond was set at $45,000. It’s a figure Lopez's family feels is too low.
"It’s a nightmare. I still can’t believe she’s gone, not like this," the victim’s mother, Yolanda Murillo, said.
Inside her Fort Worth home, Murillo leans on the strength of her daughter’s longtime friends.
Early Wednesday morning, Murillo got the call her firstborn, 22-year-old Brianna Lopez, was killed by a wrong-way driver.
At the time of the crash, Lopez was on her way back to Fort Worth from a friend’s house in Joshua.
"I knew she was on her way home. She had just messaged that she was going to be off the next day. I saw her car moving on Live 360 and then put my phone down to go to sleep," she recalled.
According to DPS, Lopez was driving north on Chisholm Trail Parkway, near Sycamore School Road.
Investigators said 32-year-old Aaron Roberts, of Cleburne, was driving the wrong way in his Chevy pick-up truck and hit Lopez’s Mazda compact SUV head-on.
Fort Worth 22-year-old killed after crash with drunk wrong-way driver, DPS says
A 22-year-old from Fort Worth is dead, and a 32-year-old man is facing charges after a wrong-way crash early Wednesday morning.
Troopers said Roberts was intoxicated and was booked into the Tarrant County jail for intoxication manslaughter.
Roberts is now out on bond.
"How does he get to live when he killed my baby? I don’t get it. Why? Why can he breathe when she is not? Why? I don’t get it," Murillo said.
Lopez’s friend since 6th grade, Samantha Campos, also drove out to the scene. It was an image she can’t shake from her memory.
"She was like my sister. I don’t have a sister. She was the sister I didn’t have," she said. "I can’t believe it’s true. It just feels like a dream."
"She never meant harm to nobody. She was a happy person. She didn’t deserve this at all," Murillo said.