Mother drives past fiery crash in East Houston, later learns her son was inside

HOUSTON - In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 4, 26-year-old Elijah Rangel was taking donuts to his friends just five minutes from his home.

As he made a turn near the 14900 Beaumont Highway, a pickup truck slammed into his vehicle killing him. Elijah's mother, who was heading to work at the time, drove right past the scene of the accident.

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"She saw the car was on fire, and she didn't know it was him. She didn't know it was my brother there," said his sister, Mayra Urban. 

Police say the other driver exhibited signs that led them to believe he may have been intoxicated. Paramedics rushed him to Ben Taub Hospital, and he's expected to survive. As of Monday, February 13, that driver has yet to be charged. 

"He's in the hospital and my brother's dead," Urban said. 

Elijah was an up-and-coming tattoo artist. He had just gotten back from a family vacation to Mexico the night before the crash. His family is now holding on to the memories they have left and working to get his remains to Mexico for a proper burial. 

"We want justice. He didn't deserve this, he didn't deserve to die like that. We just don't understand the reasoning behind other people's actions. They just don't care to get behind the wheel and drink and drive," Urban said. 

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Law enforcement arrested more than 50 drivers in Harris County on DWI charges from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday and those numbers are still rolling in.

Rangel's family has started a fundraiser to help with burial expenses, you can find a link to that fundraiser here.