SAN ANTONIO – Sitting on the porch of Samuel White's East Side home, Dorothy Mae Tillman, his girlfriend, and Anita Smith, his niece, said he did not deserve to die the way he did.
"I couldn't believe it," Tillman said.
"He had a sweet heart," Smith said.
White, 53, was on his bicycle at Dakota and South Olive when police said he was run down by alleged carjacker Manuel Garcia, 40. Police said Garcia drove through the near East Side in a stolen car targeting anyone in his way.
Watching the news that night, Smith said she feared for her uncle's life.
"When they said a bicycle man, I knew it was him because he always rides his bike," Smith said.
She said it was White's only transportation, and he probably was going to a store to buy cigarettes. He was only a few blocks from where he lived when he was struck and later died.
Tillman said she became alarmed when White never returned home. She said the next day she learned White may have been caught up in the rampage. Tillman said later she heard his name on the news as being one of two victims killed.
Tillman, White's girlfriend of several years, said he hugged her just a few hours before his death.
"He gave me one more kiss," she said.
Both Tillman and Smith said Garcia deserves to pay for the lives lost and the people injured that night.
"I think he deserves the death penalty," Tillman said.
They said White was a simple, kind-hearted man who never bothered anyone.
"He barbecued every day. He'd sit and play with his dog or take a ride on his bicycle," Smith said.
They said White attended a neighborhood church, and even named his beloved dog "Creation."
Garcia, who remains hospitalized after plowing into several vehicles, is also accused in the death of Patrick Moore, 58, two days after his birthday.
Police said Garcia struck Moore in a vacant lot, then ran him over again, dragging him into the street.
Darret Bard, the East Side restaurant owner who chased down Garcia after his truck was hit, posted his thoughts on Facebook: "We want to ask everyone to spread some extra love and joy for the victims of the disaster. We also ask you to plant some seeds of forgiveness for the driver. It was our fate to stop his hate. We hope that loves heals them all quickly. We love you."