SAN ANTONIO – An elderly woman is dead after someone drove their vehicle into her house.
That woman has been identified as 70-year-old Janice Walker.
The deadly accident happened just before 11 p.m. Tuesday at a home off Da Foste Avenue near Interstate 10 on the East Side.
Neighbor Marie recounted the tragic moments, saying, “She was sitting on her porch having a cigarette, because she had just asked us for a cigarette. I said, go sit down and have a good time with your cigarette. And I never thought this would be the last moment of her life.”
Marie described the aftermath, noting, “The doors were on her, and it had part of the frame to the house on it, too. And it was laying on her. She was crying out, help me, help me. My dad got it up off of her as fast as he could.” The driver fled the scene despite Marie’s attempts to stop him. “He was just adamant on leaving, and he just took off down the road. I tried to tell him you’re gonna get in more trouble if you leave the scene, but he left,” she said.
Walker leaves behind two children and was the caretaker for her mother, who was inside the home during the crash. Her niece, Anntwanette Hamilton, expressed the family’s grief, saying, “As you can imagine, that’s devastating on her end as well.” Hamilton remembered Walker as a kindhearted person who loved her family. “Janice son, he’s actually boarding stuff, so he’s trying to stay busy to keep his mind off his mother. He hasn’t had time to really grieve, so he’s boarding up,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton also criticized the city for removing hedges and fencing that she believes could have prevented the tragedy. “Four the times, people have ran up in here, they will stop by the hedges by the curb, and there used to be a yellow sign. So all that was supposed to be replaced by the city four years ago, but they didn’t come replace it,” she said.
The city responded, attributing the incident to excessive speed and stating that they will review Dafoste Ave for potential traffic-calming measures. Public Works reported no record of a curve warning sign and noted that hedges were removed in 2023 for sidewalk installation. The family is now advocating for flashing lights, speed bumps, and warning signs to prevent future tragedies.
Walker was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but she later succumbed to her injuries.
Police said the driver will be charged with collision involving death when he is located.
