Teen recovering after crash killed friends

TEXAS CITY — Given all that Priscilla Selvera has been through the past few months, the last thing you would think she would want to hold onto would be something named Crush.

Selvera, 17, was behind the wheel of a compact Scion that was packed with teenagers in the early morning hours of March 21 when it was slammed into from behind at an intersection in La Marque. The back end of the car — where four of the six teens in the car were sitting — was crushed almost all the way into the front seat.

The accident, caused by a driver who was charged with being intoxicated, killed two of her school friends, severely injured another teen and traumatized two boys who escaped with minor injuries. Selvera herself suffered a shattered right pelvis, fractured left pelvis, a broken tailbone and severe nerve damage to her right leg.

Crush, the surfing turtle character from the movie “Finding Nemo,” made it through intact. The inflatable toy has been Selvera’s co-pilot for more than three years and now is the one thing from that horrific crash that she can hold onto.

“You never know what day is going to be your last,” Selvera said looking down at Crush. “So live every day like it’s your last. You only live once, so you might as well make it worth it.”

It’s an escape mechanism for the Texas City teen, who said she tries not to think about the crash that killed Samantha Romero and Raquel Martinez and severely injured League City teen Jaslynn Perkins. Two younger boys, stepbrothers Brandon Hernandez and Johnny Copado, who were in the car, have had to deal with the anguish of the fatal accident, Selvera said.

Running An Errand

Selvera said she, Romero, Perkins and Martinez were “chilling” at Hernandez’s Texas City home the night before the crash. Selvera said they all jumped into her Scion to take something to another friend. They left the house in Texas City about 1:40 a.m.

While running that errand, Selvera said she got a call from Copado, who said he needed a ride back to his stepbrother’s house. She had just picked him up when she stopped at a red light on FM 1765 at Ross.

Copado was in the front passenger’s seat, and his stepbrother behind him. Romero was sitting on Martinez’s lap in the middle of the back seat, while Perkins sat behind Selvera.

Selvera had just sent a text message to Hernandez’s other brother that the group was headed back to Texas City, saying “we’ll be back in like five minutes man.”

It was about 2 a.m.

‘This Is It’

After sending the text and talking to Copado, Selvera said he looked up into the rear view mirror and saw headlights fast approaching.

“He was like 10 or 15 feet away, but he was going so fast,” Selvera said. “My first reaction was, ‘This is it.’ I took my foot off the brake, and it was probably still in the air to take off the brake and put on the gas. But it happened so fast that my foot didn’t even touch the gas.”

The car, spinning, careened across the intersection before coming to rest near a utility pole 100 feet away.

Copado got out of the car and ran to his house to get help. Selvera said she was talking to Hernandez about what had just happened.

“I just remember hearing the girls moaning the whole time,” she said. “That’s all they were doing.”

Selvera turned to look into the back seat.

“All I could see was car,” she said.

‘I Knew It Was Bad’

Emergency crews had to cut the five remaining teens from the car. Romero was dead, but Selvera didn’t want to hear it.

“I had never seen a car as messed up as mine, so I knew it was bad,” Selvera said.

She was on a stretcher when Selvera’s mother told her that one of the girls didn’t make it.

“I was like, I don’t even want to think about that right now — just shut up,” Selvera said. “I was trying to stay positive because I thought we were all going to be OK.”

While in the hospital, Selvera told her friends she didn’t want to hear or talk about the wreck.

“It was so overwhelming,” she said. “I couldn’t believe something like that could actually happen. I still can’t. I can’t walk and I still can’t believe that it happened.”

Even now, when asked about the deaths and injuries, Selvera quietly says, “I don’t want to talk about it” and moves on. She admits to thinking about the crash but said she doesn’t dwell on it.

Not The First Tragedy

Long before the accident, Selvera knew the pain of drunken driving. Three years ago, her brother, Paul Salazar, was killed by a suspected drunken driver who struck his motorcycle at state Highway 146 and Main Street in La Marque.

The man responsible fled and has never been brought to justice and is believed to have fled the country, police said.

Jim Howard III remains in the Galveston County jail on charges related to Selvera’s accident. Howard is scheduled to be in a district court Wednesday to request a reduction to his bonds, which total $950,000.

Selvera wants justice to be done but for now wants to know the answer to one question.

“I just want to know what he was doing,” Selvera said. “We were staying at that red light for around two minutes. How did he not see us? Why did he not slow down?

“Two of my best friends are dead. Why?”

Selvera said she plans to be in the courtroom Wednesday.

Therapy Hurts

Three times a week, Selvera goes to the University of Texas Medical Branch physical therapy center in Texas City. It’s not one of her favorite things to do.

“I hate therapy — it hurts too much,” she said.

The pain has paid off, though. She is able to straighten her leg, which would have been not possible a month ago. She was able to shed a wheelchair last week in favor of crutches, although she still needs the wheelchair for long distances.

She hopes to be rid of the crutches and wheelchair by the fall, when her senior year at Texas City High School begins. Doctors have told her she probably will need a cane.

“I don’t know how I am going to look with a cane,” she said.

For now her days are spent on the couch at home texting friends between therapy sessions. She doesn’t like to stay at home.

“I’m an outdoorsy person,” she said. “I like to get out and just go.”

Job Wanted

She had been a lifeguard at Galveston’s Schlitterbahn Water Park, but for now that job is on hold. Water park officials said she could return when she is able to walk up the stairs to the top of a water slide.

“Have you seen how high that is?” she asked. “No way. I need a job where I can just sit at a desk behind a computer.”

The job, she hopes, will lead to a new vehicle. It will have to be a big truck, though, because she is through with small cars. When Selvera does get back behind the wheel again, Crush will be in the passenger’s seat.

Recovery fund

Priscilla Selvera’s family has established a fund to help pay for medical care costs not covered by insurance as she recovers from her injuries. The account is at Guaranty Bank, 2131 Palmer Highway, Texas City. Money may be deposited in Selvera’s name.