Father accused of leaving 5-year-old after rollover charged with endangerment, abandonment, police say

Balcones Heights police have arrested the father of the girl

Wilmer Rene Aguilar-Orellana, 24, is accused of abandoning his daughter after a rollover crash along I-10 near Crossroads Boulevard on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, according to Balcones Heights police. (Balcones Heights police)

SAN ANTONIOUpdate (6:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 6): Balcones Heights Police Chief John Jahanara said a man believed to be the girl’s uncle was detained shortly after the crash but was later released.

That man, police said, was not involved in the incident.

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“He was identified by a witness as one of the suspects that fled from the crash,” Jahanara told KSAT on Wednesday morning. “After further questioning by our detectives, it was found he was not involved.”

The girl’s father, Wilmer Rene Aguilar-Orellana, 24, was booked into the Bexar County Jail.

Original: Police in Balcones Heights say they have detained a man who they believe left a 5-year-old girl behind following a car crash.

Officers who responded to the single-vehicle rollover crash on Interstate 10 near Crossroads around 7 a.m. Tuesday found out from witnesses about the unusual circumstances involving the child.

They say witnesses told them right after the crash, they noticed two men pulling the child from the wreckage.

Police say they handed the little girl to a stranger, telling that person to take her to a hospital, and then ran away.

Officers were able to question the girl, who identified the men as her father and uncle, and told them they were taking her to school at the time of the crash.

Balcones Heights police say they later found and detained the girl’s father, identified as Wilmer Rene Aguilar-Orellana, 24.

He will be charged with child endangerment, child abandonment and failure to stop and render aid, according to BHPD Chief John Jahanara.

They say the girl was checked out at a hospital and is expected to be OK.

Police were working to find other relatives who could take custody of her.

They say they still don’t know the cause of the crash or why the men ran from the scene.

Authorities investigate a crash in the area of Interstate 10/Loop 410 and Crossroads on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (ksat)
Authorities investigate a crash in the area of Interstate 10/Loop 410 and Crossroads on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (ksat)

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About the Authors:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Azian Bermea is a photojournalist at KSAT.