HARLINGEN — This past Mother’s Day, Frances Garcia took the last photographs she has with her husband and stepson.
That day, she surprised her mother with a band playing “Las Mañanitas” alongside her husband Roel Martinez and 10-year-old stepson Israel.
Garcia, 31, said her stepson was not into photographs, but he posed regardless that day. They had a great time together, she said. She remembers leaving her mother’s house on Nantucket Drive with her husband and stepson around 11:45 p.m., but what happened after that is a blur to her.
The family was in a tragic car accident where Garcia was the only survivor.
“I don’t remember much, but we went down 6th Street and my stepson was excited to go home to play Xbox. All of a sudden, it was as if I fell asleep and woke up,” she said.
“I remember waking up in the hospital, and they told me they had not made it. I was very hurt,” Garcia said.
The Harlingen Police Department released a press release soon after the accident, which occurred at the intersection of 6th Street and Harrison Avenue. A 19-year-old was charged in connection with the crash after further investigation, police said.
Though she survived the accident, Garcia said it was upsetting for her to be the only survivor. However, she knows her husband never wanted to see her hurt. Garcia is taking it day by day, and her strength comes from the love and support of her now extended family.
“To me, his oldest son looks just like him, but my other stepson, the one who passed away, was very attached to my husband. He noticed he was more attached and always took care of him,” she said.
Their love story
Garcia has worked as a cook at Loaves and Fishes shelter and assistance center for five years. She said she can cook almost anything, but her specialty and favorite dish to make is rice, which was her husband’s favorite.
“My husband always liked rice, and I have always made that more than anything,” she said.
Garcia is the dinner cook for both the Harlingen and Raymondville shelters. Her workplace is special to her because that is where she and her husband met for the first time.
Roel, 34, was staying at Loaves and Fishes during the COVID-19 lockdown. He started helping inside the kitchen, and Garcia said he always went above and beyond for her, doing anything she needed.
“He did whatever I asked. He was just very different,” she said.
Their love story began March of 2020, and it was a fast paced, love-struck relationship. They got engaged six months into it.
“He was a very different man. My previous relationships were pretty abusive and meeting someone that was not like that was the best,” she said.
When they began dating, Garcia and Roel would visit the drive-in movies in Mercedes. Garcia describes herself as a simple girl who has never really cared for material things. One of her favorite memories of dating Roel was how they would both visit Dixieland Park and eat inside their car.
“He liked the way the water looked, and he liked fishing. We would walk around,” she said.
A new family
After spending time together, Garcia said she had a good relationship with her stepson Israel, though in the beginning he was reluctant about her.
“He had his guard up. He did not know me. But I tried my hardest to be a good mom to him because I don’t have kids of my own, and I don’t think I can have kids of my own,” Garcia said.
“Having his kids around me was a wonderful feeling. I was able to be a mom. I was able to love them,” she said.
Garcia described Israel, 10, as very outgoing and a lover of the outdoors, and if he was inside, he played Xbox with his father. They were both lovers of the outdoors, either washing their truck together or having cookouts most of the time.
“He was hardly ever inside,” she said. “They were both outside people.”
Garcia said Roel had two other children, Ismael and Isabela Martinez. She said she has a good relationship with them, along with their mother.
“She is a very nice lady. I appreciate the support she has given me and the support from his brother, who has taken it very hard. It is a very hard situation. We lost two people who were wonderful people, and we miss them so much,” she said.
For Garcia, being able to have the emotional support from Martinez’s family has helped her with coping.
“I try not to be so depressed, but I lost two people I love so much. It is like my world just got crushed. I didn’t get to say bye, like they just got ripped from me,” Garcia said.
Looking back, that last night she spent with both of them was one of her best memories. Garcia said she remembers her mother swayed as she listened to the music and felt happiness all around.
Garcia has not been able to go to the spot where the accident happened in May because she is not ready yet. But, she was told people have left flowers in memory of them and said she wants people to know she is appreciative of the gesture.
“I haven’t seen them myself. I am kind of scared to go there. I am thankful for them for having such a good heart like that. It means so much to me,” she said.
At her mother’s house, Garcia paid her own tribute with photos on a corner table. She plans to do a candlelit vigil soon.
“I am still kind of scared to go, but I want to do it where the accident was. When I do it, I would like other people to join us once I get the courage to go there again,” she said.
