GARLAND, Texas – A 14-year-old girl died and a 16-year-old was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident, according to Garland police.
According to WFAA, Garland police responded to a crash at 10:15 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of East Oates Road and Miami Drive. When authorities arrived, they discovered two victims in the road: a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, who officials subsequently verified were brothers.
“I didn’t really believe it,” one of the girl’s classmates remarked at a growing monument near the accident site. “Someone I just saw Friday at school is no longer here.”
Officers found a 2005 Chevy Silverado on the scene with substantial damage, and witnesses reported seeing a guy fleeing the truck with a child after the incident.
“No girl deserves to go through that,” the girl’s classmate exclaimed. “She was only fourteen. She had her entire life ahead of her, and it was all taken away in that moment.”
The culprit was later identified as Stetson Ybarbo, 30, of Rowlett.
Investigators discovered that the vehicle was going at a high rate of speed when it exited the road, striking the youths and numerous parked cars near the Miami Drive intersection, officials said.
Ybarbo was charged with two counts of failing to stop and offer aid resulting in death or serious bodily injury, according to the announcement. Police are investigating the event, and the victims’ names have not been published, according to officials.
“I hope the boy survives; they already lost a daughter,” Harry Nensy told WFAA. He lives across the road from the accident.
“I couldn’t walk across and see what happened,” she added. “Because they were children. This should not have happened; there should have been a safe area for them to walk to the business.”
Neighbor Barry Fleming said he’s trying to organize a candlelight memorial for the siblings near the crash site on Monday at 6 p.m.
“I’m hurt,” Fleming explained. “Because every time I look at that memorial, it strikes me in the head. No one needed to die. “Especially like that.”