Jacqui Saburido has died

[austingirl 2192]

Apparently she died of cancer in Guatemala. For those who don't know, she was in a horrific car accident in Austin in 1999, caused by a drunk driver, which resulted in permanent disabilities and disfigurement. The car caught fire before they could get her out.

She was my age and her accident happened my first semester at UT. I've seen her post-accident face countless times and it still jars me. In the 20 years since the accident, she did a hell of a job raising awareness of the consequences of drunk driving. RIP.

[Armybrat 40942]

RIP Jacqui. What a sad story that was.

[Bottlecap 1523]

Awful. We were very briefly in a psych 301 class together the semester it happened and the morning after the professor comes into the classroom an describes what happened. Shook everyone up. RIP.

[Brisketexan 105478]

That story was f'n awful, all the way around.

I hope that she is at long last, at peace.

[Armybrat 40942]

Mrs. Brat’s longtime boyfriend through high school & college became a helicopter gunship pilot in ‘Nam. Got shot down and horrifically burned, almost as bad as Jacqui - except he didn’t lose his eyesight because he covered his eyes with an arm. He lost his nose, ears, hair, lips a, chin, and his arm & hand terribly burned (the hand is only partially functional). He spent nearly two years at Brooke Army hospital in San Antonio recuperating and undergoing many operations.

The plastic surgeon cut a flap of flesh from his good arm and attached it to the nasal area to “grow” him a new nose. He had to keep his arm in a sling up to his face for several months while the “transplant” grew on to its new location.

He still wears a wig to cover his scarred head. The Army kept him on active duty for 20 years as an information officer, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He is a really good guy. Unfortunately he lost his wife a few years ago to an aneurysm.

[RomaVicta 30039]

Her story makes me hope the believers are right about a heaven. It's a grossly unfair world. She deserved a break. I hope the end went as well as it could with no pain. Maybe sweet morphine clouds, dreams, and happy visions.

[jimmyjazz 46351]

Good lord.  After all that, she got cancer and died.  Meanwhile, the dickbag who killed two of her friends and maimed her served a little time.

What a wonderful world it isn't.

[phdhorn 6224]

Wow I do remember that.  Yeah the drunk kid hit her and she was pinned in her car, which caught fire.  Hell is probably less terrible than that.   I also know she went through some 100 surgeries at least.  They almost completely reconstructed her face as well as they could.  Her medical bills were well over $5 million, and I don't know what happened to them.  Then cancer?  I mean there is nothing you can say... awful isn't even a one-thousandth penetrating description of this story.  It might be the worst I've heard about anyone, anywhere.  All I can muster is that I'm glad she had at least 18 happy years before all of that.  RIP.

 

The guy who hit her served all 8 years of his sentence, released 2008.

Edited April 22, 2019 by phdhorn

[austingirl 2192]

The Statesman at one point did a full-page color ad showing her face before and after the accident, side by side. I've never seen anything like it. I like to think that by sharing her story, she saved lives. Hopefully that made her last 20 years more bearable.

[UDontKnow 10451]

Life on this planet is not fair. I hope the after life pays you back with interest. 

[cabowabo 4520]

Let’s not forget that two other people died in that accident, and for that Reginald  Stephey got 7 years in prison. Ridiculous. 

[Eastwood 4394]

The before and after pictures were a staple of all of the drunk driving awareness campaigns for prom/spring break/summer break every year of high school through the first half of college for me. I remember reading that she had to check the temperature of some things with her toes, as her feet were one of the few areas of her body that had enough sensation to tell if something was too hot or cold to handle. The awareness campaigns seemed to have moved on from her story around the mid 2000s, though, and I had completely forgotten about her until this thread. Sad to hear that life wasn't done dealing her a bad hand. Another dose of healthy perspective for those willing to take it.

[Newdoc 3457]

1 hour ago, cabowabo said:

Let’s not forget that two other people died in that accident, and for that Reginald  Stephey got 7 years in prison. Ridiculous. 

Some judge and /or prosecutors left “Justice” out of the “Justice System”.  

[Deej 77003]

Girl that worked with me was friends with the guy that caused that accident. She tried to tell everyone that they didn't appreciate what he had been through. She was shamed into quitting. Fuck her.

[Stunns38 3609]

I knew one of the guys hanging out with her and her group the same night before the accident. Haven’t spoken to him for at least 15 years, wonder what happened to him. Still eerie.

Sad story. RIP.

[Pam Cummings 9689]

8 hours ago, Deej said:

Girl that worked with me was friends with the guy that caused that accident. She tried to tell everyone that they didn't appreciate what he had been through. She was shamed into quitting. Fuck her.

Look, i think the dude should be in prison for sure. He has to have harsher consequences for killing 2 people and doing this to Jacqui. This story really disturbed me.

 

That being said, i sure hope all the people who pass judgement on the guy have legitimately never driven drunk. Because i have and that could have been me. And i thank whatever god there is that i came to my senses and stopped that behavior before it resulted in something like this.

[DaggerHorns 3102]

15 hours ago, austingirl said:

Apparently she died of cancer in Guatemala. For those who don't know, she was in a horrific car accident in Austin in 1999, caused by a drunk driver, which resulted in permanent disabilities and disfigurement. The car caught fire before they could get her out.

She was my age and her accident happened my first semester at UT. I've seen her post-accident face countless times and it still jars me. In the 20 years since the accident, she did a hell of a job raising awareness of the consequences of drunk driving. RIP.

My first semester as well. I remember it being horrible all around. The driver was remorseful and went on to talk about life in prison. It ruined many lives.

Seeing her face so many times on ads, commercials, websites definitely had an effect. My Longhorn buddies and I talked about her from time to time and always thought about the perspectives of the driver, Jacqui, or the deceased’s family.

It also always reminded me of the painted memorial on S Lamar right south of 5th. “Don’t drink and drive, you might kill someone’s kid.”

[RomaVicta 30039]

I think he was a repeat offender. Seven years in prison doesn't sound like a slap on the wrist to me. I'm not offended by the sentence.

There's no way to pay for what happened to the young woman and her friends who died. That reality is no reason, in my humble opinion, to absolutely destroy the life of a horribly negligent young man. 

I wonder if she forgave him. I wonder if the families of the dead forgave him. As I said, the cost to them is neither measurable nor repayable. I've been fortunate to have never experienced such a thing.

Edited April 23, 2019 by RomaVicta

[Deej 77003]

24 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

Look, i think the dude should be in prison for sure. He has to have harsher consequences for killing 2 people and doing this to Jacqui. This story really disturbed me.

 

That being said, i sure hope all the people who pass judgement on the guy have legitimately never driven drunk. Because i have and that could have been me. And i thank whatever god there is that i came to my senses and stopped that behavior before it resulted in something like this.

Maybe, but maybe it would have also been  a good idea to keep the thoughts that he was just as much of a victim as those that he killed and maimed to herself. He put himself in that spot. Those girls didn't. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Deej

[phdhorn 6224]

9 hours ago, Deej said:

Girl that worked with me was friends with the guy that caused that accident. She tried to tell everyone that they didn't appreciate what he had been through. She was shamed into quitting. Fuck her.

The ironic thing is that he saved her life.  He flagged down two paramedics who treated her although they couldn't get her out due to her being pinned.  If they had not rendered what treatment they could have, she would have died.

Since then the guy does seem to have sacked up to a degree, he's worked in anti-drunk driving organizations and even did a spot with her (talk about irony). 

But you know, it's what I used to tell my kids... you can be a "great guy" (or girl) but that's irrelevant.  It only takes a few seconds of stupidity to ruin an entire life.  It's just not worth it.  Ever.  He might otherwise be a "great guy" but he turned in that card when he absolutely fucking ruined a life and took 2 others.  So if he's gone through "years" of agony, well, tough shit.

Again, a few seconds of stupidity can equal a whole life of agony.  It doesn't matter if you're a dipshit or saint otherwise.

[HOOKEM4 5048]

I lived down the street from Reggie. He was a fucking prick at the time. His dad had died leaving him money and he was 17/18 with "a lot" of money (for a kid) and acted like it. When it happened I wasn't surprised. He did party hard. That said, we all did and we made some horrible decisions as youths. His ended up costing lives. It is a sad deal all around, sad it happened and horrible the pain the victims and families suffered due to his stupid decision to do what he did. As for the sentence, 7 years seems very light but that is for the judge to decide. He has put forth effort to talk to youths about the damaging affects DD has on people. I am not sure what else he can do going forward. 

[immortal13 4059]

Wow, so sad.....cancer on top of all she had already been through

[DonnyKerabatsos 86]

Toughest part was Coach Shewmake had just had a big heart to heart with the team about the idiotic decisions to drink and drive. Thomas Nightengale from Westlake had just killed that beauty pageant girl on 360 and had just been sentenced himself. Tragic.

[Wally Pryor 5266]

5 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

I wonder if she forgave him. I wonder if the families of the dead forgave him. As I said, the cost to them is neither measurable nor repayable. I've been fortunate to have never experienced such a thing.

She did.  Worked with Stephey on DWI ads while he was in prison. 

A long read but worthwhile if time is on your side:  http://alt.cimedia.com/statesman/specialreports/jacqui/jacqui.pdf

 

 

A firefighter heard Jacqui’s shrieks above the fire. He jumped out and pulled off a hose. Another started the water pumping. Fitzpatrick yanked a second hose loose and helped unwind it. McIntosh snatched a pry bar off the truck. He tore at the seam of the burning door, bent the window frame and broke the door handle. Finally, in desperation, he swung the metal bar against the car. Jacqui’s wails stopped. She slumped over in the flames, her head drooping on her right arm. The paramedics listened, not to the fire, but to her silence. “Thank God she’s dead,” Fitzpatrick said.

A firefighter began flooding the car with water. Another firefighter trained a second hose on the car. In a few seconds, the flames died out. Bright red spots still glowed on Jacqui’s body. Gently, a firefighter doused her. Her body steamed. Black, sooty water splashed McIntosh, still standing by the car. I’ve got to take care of the living, he told himself, then sprinted past his partner. “Fitz,” he said, “she’s dead.” Fitzpatrick needed to know for sure. He went to the Olds. On the shoulder of the road, Johanna and Johan looked up at McIntosh. The paramedic placed his hands on Laura’s lifeless body. “She’s DOS,” McIntosh shouted to his partner. Dead on scene. Fitzpatrick peered into the car. Every square inch looked burned. The seats were melted goop. He reached for Jacqui’s wrist, then froze. Across the road, McIntosh heard him yell. “Oh my God, she’s still alive.” Jacqui moved her head and whimpered.

Remnants of her hair, crisp and curled, clung to her skull. Her scalp was seared, her face indistinguishable. One eye looked burned open, the other burned shut. Her shirt was melted, and her skin was crusty, cracked. She looked like a black silhouette.

[austingirl 2192]

8 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

She did.  Worked with Stephey on DWI ads while he was in prison. 

A long read but worthwhile if time is on your side:  http://alt.cimedia.com/statesman/specialreports/jacqui/jacqui.pdf

 

 

 

 

I remember reading that article when it first came out. I'd totally forgotten about till now. The description of the tub room gives me chills. In 2014 I was in an accident at Crystal Beach, during which about 3/4 of the skin on my left palm was scraped completely off, along with some skin on my fingers. I was covered in mud from a ditch and had a pretty grody wound on my forehead. They took me to the burn unit at UTMB and to the tub room to clean me up. I'd never thought about what it was called till now, but reading the description, it's definitely what it was. They'd given me two morphine shots in the ER about 30 minutes earlier, and once I was in the room, they gave me a fentanyl "popsicle". Despite all of that, I'm not ashamed to admit that I screamed the entire time they cleaned my hand, somewhere around 30-45 seconds. I couldn't help it. It was the worst pain I've ever felt. They warned me about it beforehand and did it as quickly as possible, but still.

All this to say I cannot imagine the pain this girl went through. I can't imagine multiplying what I felt when they cleaned that small part of my body. I hope there's a heaven if only to give Jacqui a blissful eternity free of the awfulness of her last 20 years.

[Stunns38 3609]

I knew one of the guys hanging out with her and her group the same night before the accident. Haven’t spoken to him for at least 15 years, wonder what happened to him. Still eerie.

 

Sad story. RIP.

 

Very hard to read this again

 

 

Luis Cordozo is the guy I was referring to in the above post.