Ofrenda of awareness: San Antonio family honors loved one lost to drinking, driving

Yulissa Valero died in a crash earlier this year. Now, her family is honoring her this Dia de los Muertos.

SAN ANTONIO – Natalie Garza never thought she’d have to build an ofrenda for her sister, Yulissa.

“We want to keep remembering her,” Garza said. “Her life was taken too short.”

Yulissa Valero, 26, died earlier this year in a crash. Her family is using Día de los Muertos to honor and remember her.

“Someone made a mistake,” Angela Rodriguez, Yulissa’s cousin, said. “Now we have to deal with a loss.”

Yulissa Valero and two others were driving on a highway on Jan. 13. Valero rode in the front passenger seat, according to her family.

According to San Antonio police, a wrong-way driver hit them in their vehicle head-on. SAPD arrested and charged the driver on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

“I miss her very much,” Frances Valero, Yulissa’s mom, said.

Since 2017, the Texas Department of Transportation said that Texas leads the nation in fatal and wrong-way crashes.

For DWI crashes, statistics for Texas show that three people on average die per day. Garza said her family is asking for people to think twice before drinking and driving.

“You can take somebody else’s life,” Garza said.

Día de los Muertos is a hard time for the family, but her loved ones hope it brings them closer to Yulissa’s spirit.

“That’s how we always feel her around here through the memories,” Rodriguez said.

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About the Authors
Avery Everett headshot

Avery Everett is a news reporter and multimedia journalist at KSAT 12 News. Avery is a Philadelphia native. If she’s not at the station, she’s either on a hiking or biking trail. A lover of charcuterie boards and chocolate chip cookies, Avery’s also looking forward to eating her way through San Antonio, one taco shop at a time!

Gavin Nesbitt headshot

Gavin Nesbitt is an award-winning photojournalist and video editor who joined KSAT in September 2021. He won a Lone Star Emmy, a Regional Murrow, a Texas Broadcast News Award, a Headliners Foundation Silver Showcase Award and 2 Telly Awards for his work covering the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

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