SAN ANTONIO – To Carlie Jo Mugica and Taylor Onofre, it still feels like a bad dream.
The sisters are still processing the news that their father, Carlos Mugica, 54, and his wife, Jennifer Salazar Mugica, 46, were killed suddenly in a car crash last Friday.
The couple were headed back to Castle Hills, traveling on Interstate 10 in Fayette County, after a trip to Houston.
“I think we’re still in shock. We feel like we’re in a twilight zone, honestly,” said Carlie Jo.
Taylor agreed, mentioning how she last saw her father by way of a virtual visit.
“I was just on Facetime the day before he left on his trip,” she said. “We were on Facetime because he wanted to see his granddaughter.”
Still recovering from giving birth one month ago, Taylor said she is grateful that her father also got a chance to meet his granddaughter in person.
As a father, she and her sister say, Carlos was the best.
They described him as being loving, caring and “a big kid.”
“He has on his desk all these toys of ‘Star Wars,’” Taylor said. “He loved ‘Star Wars.’”
They say they also loved their stepmother, Jennifer, who had married their father just a few years ago.
“She was a sweet, loving and kind woman,” Taylor said.
Carlie Joe described Jennifer as someone who also loved her family and friends and made “the best spaghetti.”
The loss of the couple is being felt beyond their loved ones.
Jennifer served as assistant principal at Longfellow Middle School in the San Antonio Independent School District.
The school sent home a letter to parents Saturday, notifying them of her death and informing them that counselors would be available to students.
Carlos worked as a realtor and volunteered with the Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation.
“He was Mr. Fiesta,” Carlie Jo said. “He loved Fiesta.”
In the wake of his death, a spokesman for the organization issued a statement, praising Carlos for his dedication to the group.
His daughters, meanwhile, say they hold tight to their own memories, relying on one another and their faith to get by.
“Dad and Jennifer, they served God’s mission,” Carlie Jo said. “Their purpose is done and now God has called them home.”
Read also: