'Even till the end, they were still together' | Loved ones mourn loss of two SA sisters who died in bus crash in Mexico
SAN ANTONIO — A family is grappling with the sudden loss of two San Antonio sisters who they said died in a charter bus crash while traveling home from Mexico.
The crash happened on Sunday, September 8 a few hours north of Monterrey, Mexico. The family identified the victims as Laura Francisca Salas, 74 and Maria de los Angles Soto, 61.
The sisters were raised in Monterrey but moved to San Antonio to raise their families.
Marlene Lyon is Laura's daughter and Anthony Soto is Maria's son. They said their mothers were inseparable.
"They were always together here," Lyon said. "Always going out, running errands together, shopping."
They described them as loving, energetic, and always smiling. Anthony said he had spoken with his mother the night before she passed.
"I called mom the night before, I said 'Hey you're getting on the bus?,'" Anthony said.
When Sunday morning rolled around and no one had heard from them, they knew something was wrong, so they started calling family members in Mexico.
"My uncle from Mexico said, that he had found out that the bus had gotten into an accident," Lyon said.
The family said the charter bus crashed into an 18-wheeler, causing it to go up in flames. At first, they did not know if they were still alive or in the hospital. So, they flew to Mexico immediately.
"There was supposedly around 20 people on the bus, something like that on that bus and only four people died," Anthony said. "I was like...there's no way both of them were among those four."
Through DNA testing, they were able to confirm their mothers were two of the four victims. However, the family still does not exactly how the crash happened. They do know what the bus drive told investigators.
"The only thing that he mentioned was that there was an older lady that they couldn't help off the bus, well my mom was 61 and her mom was 74," Anthony said. "So immediately I just thought if that older lady was my tia, I just know my mom would've never left her. They were so so close."
While the family is grieving and trying to come to terms with what happened, they said they have found some peace.
"Even till the end, they were together and as hard as that is, I could never imagine the pain either of them would have felt if they lose one or another," Anthony said.
Both of their bodies were brought back to San Antonio late last week. The family is now planning funeral arrangements. If you would like to help, they have set up a GoFundMe .
