By Allan Jamail
Channelview, TX – Tuesday, August 13, 2024, Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia and the parents of Jaqueline Gonzalez, who suffered a pedestrian fatality, had a ribbon cutting ceremony for a sidewalk project on Dell Dale Street.
I spoke to Gerardo and Susana Gonzalez, the parents of Jaqueline, after the event and they thanked me for representing the North Channel Star with coverage of the ribbon cutting. Mr. Gonzalez grabbed and shook my hand as he gave me his address and asked if I would bring him some newspapers so he could provide them to their family and friends.
Our conversation was difficult at times as he emotionally described the events of that tragic December 2022 night which took the life of their beautiful 25 year old daughter.
He said it was about 9:30 at night when Jaqueline left their home to walk to a nearby convenient store. He said he was told by one of Harris County’s deputies investigating the accident that his daughter was walking north on the east side of Dell Dale where there was part of a sidewalk. And in the 2000 block, his daughter decided to cross over to the west side sidewalk, because the sidewalk she was walking on did not continue and was impassable.
Mr. Gonzalez said according to the driver’s statement, Jaqueline suddenly stepped out in front of his SUV. It was dark and he couldn’t stop in time to avoid hitting her with the fatal blow from his vehicle.
“I like how it is now because it looks better for the community. Now, it’s safe for walking and I hope this will prevent what happened to my daughter from happening to someone else,” Mr. Gonzalez said.
Susana Gonzalez said, “There was no sidewalk, so my daughter decided to cross the street to get over to where there was a sidewalk, but it was very dark, the car who hit her didn’t see her.”
So Susana went to Commissioner Adrian Garcia for help after authorities determined poor lighting also played a factor in the crash.
“There is no lighting in the roadway,” Sgt. Dashana Cheek, with Harris County Sheriff’s Office at the time, said in his accident report.
Cheek said the driver stopped and even tried to perform CPR on the woman before first responders from nearby CVFD on Dell Dale showed up and rushed her to a hospital. It was at the hospital that she was pronounced dead.
Other deputies on the scene said the driver did not show any signs of intoxication.
Before cutting the ribbon Commissioner Adrian Garcia said, “I’m very honored to have the opportunity to show the Gonzalez family that the life of their daughter and the loss of their daughter will not be in vain, and we’ll always have something here to remind us of her.”
He continued, “This sidewalk improvement is Phase 1… Phase 2 and Phase 3 is to be completed soon. It will include better street lighting and a traffic signal to improve safety. This is an upcoming vibrant community, and it’s time the county does its part to make sure it has the same upscale living conditions as any other community.”
