EDINBURG — Irineo Maldonado Jr. worked tirelessly to hunt down the man who fled custody more than 16 years ago after the tragic death of Maldonado’s 20-year-old daughter.
But at 53 years old, Maldonado died this year, just months before the man accused of causing his daughter and another man’s deaths was detained crossing back into the United States last month.
Thursday, Jorge Armando Gonzalez Guerrero, who had been wanted for nearly 16 years after fleeing to Mexico in late 2001, was in court for the first of what will be many pre-trial hearings before he is to face a jury trial in connection with a Nov. 4, 2000, crash that left Kristy Maldonado and another man dead.
When Nora Maldonado received the call just after midnight on that November night, her world and that of her family changed forever.
Kristy, who was driving the family’s 1991 Ford Probe on her way to the movies, was then a 20-year-old school bus aide — caring, and loving, Nora Maldonado said. The young girl was always looking out for others over herself.
“They were just cruising that night,” Nora Maldonado said. “I remember telling her to be careful.”
In the vehicle, four other people, including Kristy’s younger sister, Crystal Maldonado, who was 16 years old at the time, were passengers that night.
Police reports state the crash happened near the intersection of Sioux and Jackson Roads.
The report states Gonzalez, then a 21-year-old McAllen resident and possibly inebriated, was driving his station wagon west on Sioux Road when he allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way at a stop sign and crashed into the Probe carrying the Maldonado sisters, two other women, and a child.
Gonzalez’s passenger and longtime friend, Juan Medina Jr., 23, of Mission, was ejected from the vehicle and died a short while later at a local hospital, the report states.
Gonzalez suffered minor injuries and was released, but the police report indicated he was intoxicated.
Shortly thereafter, Gonzalez was charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault; but he never faced them. According to authorities, he instead fled to Mexico.
The months and years that followed haunted Irineo Maldonado as he worked to bring about attention to his and his family’s cause.
“We would put up posters with (Gonzalez’s) picture all around the neighborhood,” Nora Maldonado said.
Crystal Maldonado, unable to confront the pain of losing her older sister, years later left the Valley and became a trucker, choosing life on the road rather than the constant reminder of her sister’s absence.
To this day, Crystal Maldonado said she hasn’t thought about the crash much; partly because the pain hurts too much and partly because she has little to no recollection of the crash that took her sister’s life.
Nora Maldonado said she was surprised by the news that Gonzalez had been arrested last month while attempting to come back into the Rio Grande Valley.
“So many years waiting for justice for my daughter. I couldn’t believe it; I was in shock and working when I got the news. It just hit me and I started crying because I couldn’t believe it,” Nora said.
Ana Verley, a local victim service specialist with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers in Hidalgo County, who is a distant cousin of the Maldonado family arrived in the Valley the year after the crash, said Irineo Maldonado was so dedicated to finding Gonzalez he even converted his pickup truck into a mobile poster with pictures of Gonzalez and his daughter emblazoned all over the truck.
But after more than a decade with virtually no help from local, state and federal authorities, the toll of his grief led to dark times.
“Our lives haven’t been the same without her. My husband, he dedicated his life to searching for this man. He went into a very deep depression because we lost our daughter; but now it’s like a relief after all these years waiting for justice,” Nora Maldonado said.
Irineo Maldonado was depressed, and he abused alcohol to cope, Nora Maldonado said.
“He was very depressed. He drank more, he stayed home a lot, he got sick and didn’t work at all,” she said. “He gave up on himself. He was very depressed — in his own world, thinking that some day he would catch (Gonzalez) and he was going to have this peace in him, but he’s not here to see it.”
Despite his absence, Nora Maldonado said Monday she felt ready to take on the next months and possibly years attending the court proceedings until Gonzalez faces a jury.
“I think I’m ready because finally going to get justice for my daughter and now she can rest in peace,” Nora said between tears. “My husband — I wish he was here because he was looking forward to this.”
If convicted of the manslaughter charges, both second-degree felonies, the now 37-year-old Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
He is expected in court in early December.
