(Seguin) — For Blas Mendez Jr. and his wife Letty, the devastating 2021 crash that changed their lives didn’t just steal Blas’s independence and health — it took their careers, and the life they knew here in the Seguin community.
As reported earlier by the Seguin Daily News, the couple was recently awarded a $831 million civil verdict – the largest ever awarded by a San Antonio courtroom.
But while the settlement recognized the pain and damage caused by the alcohol involved crash, the San Marcos family says it continues to grieve the many layers of loss that followed.
The former Seguin ISD behavior specialist was left permanently disabled, requiring full-time care and ending his 21-year career supporting students with special needs. But Blas wasn’t the only one forced to say goodbye to the life they knew.
Letty Mendez, who worked for years at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, was also forced to walk away from her own career so she can care for her husband full-time.
“It was every day we drove there. All my kids were born in Seguin, at the hospital. So, I mean, that was my home away from home, and then Blas just loved Seguin ISD. I mean, he had opportunities to go other places. He’s originally from San Marcos. I’m not from here. I’m from the Rio Grande Valley. But he’s a San Marcos native. He started in Seguin. Miss (Glenda) Moreno gave him a chance at Breezy (AJB). He was there as a substitute, and I guess somebody went on leave, and so they offered him a full time substitute position. And then after that, they hired him. And so, he coached for them. He never thought of leaving. The only time that he thought he might have left was when my son was going to play high school football at Hays. He was with Special Ed department at that point,” said Letty.
She says the choice wasn’t easy, especially after having found a work family at GRMC and having spent so many years serving the people of Seguin.
“We couldn’t have gotten through all of this without them. You know? My job kept me on when I probably should have been fired or let go to meet the demands. I was the director of the outpatient rehab. And like I said, my hospital did everything they could to let me be with him, initially. When the accident first happened, letting me work when I could — those kinds of things. And then just being there to support us anytime something happened because he’s had to be hospitalized over and over again for different things since the accident. He was gone for nine months. So, nine months was the original time that he was in the hospital after the accident. But since then, he’s needed some surgeries and then, getting sick with pneumonia and things like that. So, he’s hospitalized back and forth. They worked with me as much as they could. And then finally, that was the decision I kind of made was to leave just because I couldn’t give them what they deserved —-my time and things like that. And that was another reason that I felt like I had to step down for the betterment of just the department and everything. They just needed somebody that could be there 100 percent,” said Letty.
As this chapter comes to a close, she says it’s important for people to understand the full weight of what was lost.
“Cherish your family because you never know when it’s going to change. Cherish what you have and realize what’s important. The physical things, all that isn’t important when you don’t have your family by your side anymore. Whether it’s your work family, whether it’s your regular family, you’ve got to cherish what you have because you never know when it’s going to get taken away from you in an instant, you know? I mean, everything was great to go. We were supposed to go to work that Monday. The accident happened Saturday. Your life gets turned around in an instant, and nobody’s ever ready for that. Just cherish what you have and enjoy life, whether it’s work life, whether it’s your home life because someday, it won’t be there anymore,” said Letty.
Letty now speaks publicly not only to raise awareness about the consequences of drunk driving but also to give thanks.
“Don’t do it because you don’t know who you’re going to hurt. Like I said, it wasn’t just Blas who got hurt. It was all his family, all his brothers, his sisters, his students, his friends. You ruined somebody’s life for a bad choice. And there’s so many ways you can get around that — call an Uber, call a friend, anything. Just try to think about it and try not to do it,” said Letty.
On July 25, 2021, Blas was riding a 2018 Harley-Davidson just two miles from his San Marcos home when he struck debris left on the road from a recent crash. The debris had come from a vehicle wreck caused by 18-year-old Carlos Alexander “Alex” Portillo Jr. of San Antonio, who had been driving under the influence.
The recent civil trial found that Koozies Icehouse & Grill, a now-closed New Braunfels bar, and its owner were liable for overserving alcohol to Portillo before the crash. Under Texas’ Dram Shop Act, businesses can be held accountable for serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated individuals who then cause harm. Portillo, who was charged with intoxication assault, received a 10-year suspended sentence and was ordered to complete community service. According to reports, the family is not likely to see most, if any, of the $831 million, as the bar has since closed and most likely does not have the financial means or insurance coverage to pay the family.