SAN ANTONIO – Sylvana Sandoval had just finished having dinner and drinks with her fiance the night of Feb. 26, 2016, when she pulled onto Rector Drive and was struck broadside by a large pickup truck.
Sandoval's fiance had left the parking lot at the same time in his car and witnessed the crash.
"He was right behind her. He saw her pull up and he saw the lights of the vehicle coming, and he thought at first, 'She could make it,'" prosecutor Jessica Frazier said in opening arguments Tuesday in the intoxication manslaughter trial of Kaleb Fajardo.
"He ran to his fiance in hopes that she was still alive," Frazier said. "When he found her, she was barely breathing, struggling for her life."Â
Sandoval, 61, died two days later.
Fajardo, who was 19 years old at the time, was driving the truck that struck Sandoval.
"He was intoxicated," Frazier said. "He was travelling at a high rate of speed and it was at that time when Sylvana pulled out, that she never had a chance."Â
Fajardo's lawyers suggested that Sandoval had been drinking that night and that could have contributed to the crash.
If Fajardo is found guilty, he could face a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.
Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday in Felony Impact Court, with Judge Laura Parker presiding.