DWI Costs Lives

Hundreds of pending cases leave families in limbo

DONNA - One family continues to wait for justice for their daughter, two years after a drunk driving accident left her dead.

The girl, 15-year-old Zulema Martinez, died in a rollover accident. The driver, Monica Zapata, has been charged, but she never been to court.

The case against Zapata has been postponed at least a dozen times.

After hearing about the case, NEWSCHANNEL 5 looked into how many open cases there are in Hidalgo County.

After we filed a Freedom of Information Act request, we found there are 497 felony cases. Those cases involve drinking and driving which involves injuries. Some of the cases date back to 1992.

Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra tells NEWSCHANNEL 5 as the population of the Valley grows, more crimes are committed, increasing their case load. But his office is limited by the number of courts and jail space.

"We don't have a county jail big enough to hold all the people that I should be sending to county jail," he says.

He says every case is decided on based on evidence and details.