Enduring pain on bus crash anniversary

A year after a tragic bus crash in Mexico killed 12 passengers and injured 17, family and loved ones are not only struggling to overcome their loss but also still waiting for answers.

Ruben Gallegos Jr. is among the family members of victims who say they haven’t received any communication from Viva Mexico INC., the tour organizers or from Grupo SENDA, the operators of the bus. Gallegos is the brother in law of the late Maria Concepcion "Connie" Sanchez.

On Tuesday at noon, more than 100 family and friends gathered at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral for a memorial mass in honor of two of the victims, Sanchez and Roger Burns. Both were employed by the Brownsville Independent School District Special Services Department. Victims Ana Maria Bujanos and Rebecca Pemelton, were also employed by BISD and worked out of Cummings Middle School.

Several friends wore t-shirts displaying a photo of Sanchez and Burns.

"We are here to honor their life," Gallegos said. "Not their death. That was very tragic and we are still trying to overcome it."

One year ago, the group of tourist from the U.S. and Canada was travelling from the Rio Grande Valley to the Mexican State of Zacatecas, when a tractor trailer slammed into their bus.

Since then, Sanchez’s sisters, Elisa Gallegos and Silvia Van Coppenolle have been living day by day and turned to prayer as a way to overcome the loss of their dear "Connie", Gallegos said.

In addition to their loss, the family is overcoming some pent-up anger at the lack of responses regarding the accident.

"We were at a trade show in McAllen and my wife had to restrain me because there was a booth from Viva Mexico tours advertising trips to Mexico," said a grief stricken Sanchez brother-in-law Dan Van Coppenolle. "I wanted to run over there and tell them not to go to Mexico with them."

When the accident happened, the Van Coppenolle’s say they had to jump through hoops to get the necessary paperwork for the transportation and burial.

"It saddens me that they made my wife go through all of that only to just ignore us at the end," he said.

As a result of the lack of communications from Viva Mexico Tours and Grupo SENDA, the families of deceased and injured have resorted to legal assistance.

"We are not doing this for the money," Gallegos said. "We just want answers so we can get some closure."

Robert Bujanos, cousin of the late Ana Maria Bujanos, is a Corpus Christi area attorney who represents four of the families seeking answers and damages for the families. The families of Sanchez and Burns are not represented by Bujanos.

"This is a time to remember that the passengers on board suffered great injury or had their lives taken through no fault of their own," Bujanos said. "Family members of the departed continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones. And those that survived the crash heroically struggle with their life changing injuries. The families that I am assisting now seek truth and justice through the courts. They also wish to thank the community for its continued support and compassion."

Georgina Gourley and her husband Royce were on board the bus when it crashed. As a result of the accident, Royce suffered severe brain injuries from which he is still recovering, while Georgina suffered minor injuries.

Georgina said she questions whether her 71-year-old husband, who was an instructor at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, will ever heal.

"It’s been horrible," she said. "And for me, I’m the only one who can take care of him. It’s very, very difficult for me."

Repeated calls to Viva Mexico Tours and Grupo SENDA went unanswered.