Wrong-way driver kills four — including two sisters — in highway crash, NC police say
Four women, including two sisters, were killed when a wrong-way driver crashed into their car, North Carolina police said.
The driver, Pedro Alfonso Galdamez, 51, gave police false identification at the scene, according to the Winston-Salem Police Department.
The four women were traveling southbound in a 2016 Nissan Sentra on U.S. Route 52 in Winston-Salem on April 16 when they were struck head-on just after 3 a.m. by a 2010 Honda Accord traveling in the wrong direction, according to a report from the Winston-Salem Police Department.
The driver of the Nissan Sentra, Blanca Estela Castillo Bernal, 60, and the three passengers, Gregoria Noyola Jiménez, 64; Santa Hernandez Bernadino, 46; and Estefania Hernandez, 32, were killed, according to police. Bernadino and Hernandez were sisters, according to a GoFundMe page created for their family.
The driver of the Honda Accord was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police said. He originally identified himself to officers as “Giovany Ruiz,” the report says.
Winston-Salem is about 100 miles northwest of Raleigh.
Officers served warrants at the man’s residence on April 24 accusing him of four counts of felony death by motor vehicle and driving while impaired, the report says. He was also cited for not having an operator’s license and driving the wrong way, police said.
While processing the charges at a magistrate’s office, officers found that he had given them a false name, the report says. They identified him as Galdamez and charged him with identity theft, police said.
His bond was set at $1.25 million, according to police.
Emily Salinas-Hernandez, who is Santa Hernandez Bernadino’s daughter, grieved the passing of her mother on Facebook.
“I feel this pain can’t be explained,” Salinas-Hernandez wrote in Spanish. “Can I just say, I won’t ever feel the same as before. I was so happy because I had my mom at my side, and now I don’t have her… My best friend, my queen, my fighter, you pulled me through…”
She also wrote about losing her aunt.
“I love you so much, aunt,” she wrote. “How I regret not spending more time with you. I miss you … Thank you for taking care of my daughter when I needed help…”
Salinas-Hernandez told WXII12 that her mother and aunt were from Mexico, and her aunt had just moved to North Carolina in January.
“She was so happy she was here, she was so happy,” Salinas told the outlet. “She had a dream. She had so many things to accomplish. ...”
Vanessa Mendoza, Blanca Castillo’s daughter, told Que Pasa Media Network that the morning of the crash, her mother was dropping off the other women at a friends’ reunion. Her mother was from Mexico and had been living in Winston-Salem for almost 30 years, she told the outlet.
Family members said in a GoFundMe page they created for Gregoria Noyola Jiménez that they would always keep her memory in their hearts.
“Her family is devastated, as are many of her friends, and everyone else who knew her,” the page says. “We’re only left with the memories and experiences she gave us.”
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