Spring Break
Elton Samir Vasquez
By: Nicole Alvarado
Issue date: 3/3/09 Section: News
Sergio Vasquez remembered waking up on the morning of Dec. 12, 2008, with an undeniable feeling of dread looming overhead.
He hadn't heard from his son, Elton Samir Vasquez, 21, in a few days. Elton was visiting his mother in his hometown of Managua, Nicaragua.
"Elton was very responsible, so when I hadn't heard from him all day, I was worried," Sergio said. "When the call came through, I already had a bad feeling because the line was bad and it was very early in the morning."
Elton died in a car accident at 5:20 a.m. on a Sunday morning in Managua on the Pan-american Highway. He was the only fatality. His sister, Silvia Vasquez, 28, and her boyfriend, Jeffer Alvarado Aragón, 23, survived the crash.
According to El Nuevo Diario, a Nicaraguan newspaper, Aragón, who was driving, lost control of the car as it sped down Nandaime-Rivas Rd. The vehicle crashed into a billboard post and severed the car in two. The accident threw the pieces of the vehicle on either side of the road. Elton, who was sitting in the backseat, died upon impact.
"They said he didn't feel anything," Sergio said, "but they don't know why they swerved. There were no animals in the road that they could see and nothing was in front of them. [Elton] died there, in the street."
Sergio said he will remember the last time he saw his son forever.
"He hugged me long and hard in the airport and I knew in this moment, I felt -something I will not forget. I said, 'Son, be careful and when you get there, call me.' I feared there would be an airplane accident. I never thought about a car accident."
Sergio and his son emigrated from Nicaragua to Houston, Texas, 12 years ago. Elton attended Robert E. Lee High School, where he was "an excellent student" who participated in a magnet program. He took advanced classes in subjects like history and pre-calculus, won many academic prizes and worked at a nearby Kroger's on the weekends.
"He was always above his level," Sergio said. "Very dedicated to his studies. He never did anything bad - no drugs, no alcohol. He lived simply; said it was necessary to be happy.
He hadn't heard from his son, Elton Samir Vasquez, 21, in a few days. Elton was visiting his mother in his hometown of Managua, Nicaragua.
"Elton was very responsible, so when I hadn't heard from him all day, I was worried," Sergio said. "When the call came through, I already had a bad feeling because the line was bad and it was very early in the morning."
Elton died in a car accident at 5:20 a.m. on a Sunday morning in Managua on the Pan-american Highway. He was the only fatality. His sister, Silvia Vasquez, 28, and her boyfriend, Jeffer Alvarado Aragón, 23, survived the crash.
According to El Nuevo Diario, a Nicaraguan newspaper, Aragón, who was driving, lost control of the car as it sped down Nandaime-Rivas Rd. The vehicle crashed into a billboard post and severed the car in two. The accident threw the pieces of the vehicle on either side of the road. Elton, who was sitting in the backseat, died upon impact.
"They said he didn't feel anything," Sergio said, "but they don't know why they swerved. There were no animals in the road that they could see and nothing was in front of them. [Elton] died there, in the street."
Sergio said he will remember the last time he saw his son forever.
"He hugged me long and hard in the airport and I knew in this moment, I felt -something I will not forget. I said, 'Son, be careful and when you get there, call me.' I feared there would be an airplane accident. I never thought about a car accident."
Sergio and his son emigrated from Nicaragua to Houston, Texas, 12 years ago. Elton attended Robert E. Lee High School, where he was "an excellent student" who participated in a magnet program. He took advanced classes in subjects like history and pre-calculus, won many academic prizes and worked at a nearby Kroger's on the weekends.
"He was always above his level," Sergio said. "Very dedicated to his studies. He never did anything bad - no drugs, no alcohol. He lived simply; said it was necessary to be happy.
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