Driver who critically injured four people in 2018 bus stop crash sentenced to decades in prison

Pregnant mother, unborn son saved by University Hospital staff after crash

Driver Jose A. Garcia was arrested by San Antonio police weeks after the August 2018 crash. (Andrew Wilson, KSAT)

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man responsible for a 2018 crash at a bus stop that critically injured four people has been sentenced to serve decades in prison, court officials confirmed.

Jose A. Garcia was given sentences ranging from 20 years to 40 years in prison after a jury trial last week in felony impact court, court records show.

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Garcia, a habitual offender with a long criminal history in Bexar County, was given credit for over 49 months of time served.

Garcia was driving 60 mph in a 40 mph speed zone in late August 2018 when he veered into the oncoming traffic lane and crashed into a bus stop at the intersection of Culebra Road and Zarzamora Street, SAPD investigators previously said.

Four people, including Stephanie Johnson Athey, who was pregnant, were struck by Garcia’s vehicle.

Doctors at University Hospital performed an emergency cesarean section they described at the time as “a true miracle,” saving the lives of Johnson Athey and her son, Ethan.

Garcia, who had multiple convictions for DWI and a lengthy history of family violence, was taken into custody in September 2018.

Garcia at the time of his arrest told reporters he “didn’t do it on purpose” and that the crash was an accident.

He was later charged with four counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

One of the SBI counts was later dismissed due to a missing witness, court records show.

Bexar County’s felony impact courts were established in 2017 to help manage overflow cases assigned to the county’s district courts.


About the Author
Dillon Collier headshot

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

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