Uncle: Dad recalls crash that killed boys as blur

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The uncle of two young brothers killed by a suspected drunken driver who was then shot and killed at the crash scene says the boys' father was injured in the accident and remembers it only as a "blur."

Gabriel Barajas said his brother, David Barajas Sr., remembers trying to get to his sons after the crash near their Houston-area home and then recalls waking up in a hospital.

"He just said it happened so fast," Gabriel Barajas said.

David Barajas, along with his sons, 12-year-old David Jr. and 11-year-old Caleb, were pushing the family's broken-down pickup truck down a dark, narrow road on the night of Dec. 7 and were just 50 yards from home when a car crashed into them.

"He told me ... he kept looking back, making sure nobody was coming, nobody was going to run into them," said Gabriel Barajas.

David Jr., 12, died at the scene while Caleb, 11, died at a hospital. Neighbors said they heard two gunshots minutes after the crash, which happened near Alvin, about 30 miles southeast of Houston. Jose Banda, the 20-year-old driver who plowed into the brothers, was found shot in the head. His death has been ruled a homicide.

Brazoria County sheriff's investigator Dominick Sanders said authorities were still trying to determine who shot Banda and to find the gun used to kill him. He said investigators believe Banda had been drinking before the crash, and they're awaiting the results of blood tests. Other toxicology tests have been done to see if Banda had any other substances in his system.

A week after the crash and two days after the brothers' funeral, Sanders said investigators were still hoping to interview the boys' father and mother for the first time. She was in the family's truck with two younger children when the crash happened. Gabriel Barajas said his brother has spoken with authorities.

"Right now they are mourning. The biggest thing was putting the boys to rest," said Gabriel Barajas, 39. Funeral services for Caleb and David were held on Wednesday.

Sanders has declined to say whether the boys' parents were tested for gunshot residue after the shooting or whether other forensic evidence was collected and tested. He also declined to explain why investigators hadn't yet spoken to the couple, but he said potential witnesses in such cases are sometimes given time to grieve and make funeral arrangements first.

Joel Androphy, a Houston attorney not connected to the case, said it's common for authorities to wait to speak with potential witnesses if these individuals have to deal with burying loved ones.

"You just have to wait until people are ready to talk to you," he said. "In many cases, people would think this would be disrespectful" to speak with them right away.

Gabriel Barajas said he and his family are aware of speculation that one of the boys' parents or some other family member might be responsible for shooting Banda.

"Words can't express how that is putting a damper on us. It's ugly," he said. "We're trying to mourn and we've got people saying `I heard this' at the funeral. I don't care what you heard. It's ugly. It hurts."

He offered his condolences to Banda's family, who has declined to comment about the crash and fatal shooting.

Gabriel Barajas said his family is having a difficult enough time dealing with the loss of his nephews. He said the boys' father can't sleep or eat and the boys' grandfather wants to take down his Christmas tree because there is nothing to celebrate this holiday season.

He said his brother has tried to talk about the accident but "falls to his knees, crying his heart out and he can't even finish the story and I don't push it because I don't want to hear it."

Gabriel Barajas said he and his family have been helped by the outpouring of support from friends and the community. He recalled his nephews as good boys who were curious and loving and who enjoyed being outdoors and playing football, basketball and soccer.

"It's a big loss," he said.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Survivor recalls BP well explosion in Gulf

 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- One year ago this week, the world watched helplessly as the disaster in the Gulf quickly went from very bad to even worse.

Since then, we've covered dozens of issues related to the explosion and spill, but there's one story we haven't hear yet. And that story is of those who were on the rig that day and survived. While they are all live today, their lives will never be the same. For Ryan Haire, the unforgettable pictures of the BP rig on fire are an unavoidable reality. "For some people they say, it's a year now. For me, it still feels like last week," he said. "Day in, day out that's the one thing I think about -- just all the time." Haire was a cementer for Haliburton. He worked right on the drilling floor of the Deepwater Horizon. He was onboard for days before the blast as the crew was getting troubling readings from a deep well about to explode. "The problems seemed excessive," he said. "I've heard it referred to as the well from hell." Haire was in his bedroom when the well blew. He felt a blast, and when he opened his eyes, he was in the kitchen next door to his bedroom. "I assume I went through that wall," he said. From there, in the dark and confusion, he made it to a lifeboat and onto a nearby work vessel where he and the other survivors sat for 12 hours, watching the rig burn -- and always coming up 11 short on their muster. "I think we realized it by the time we got on the boat and we were taking a final muster, and I think everybody was just concerned. 'Where's Dewey, where's Gordon, where's Roy?' Questions -- people we didn't see," he said. Haire still has back, shoulder and neck pain; it's manageable. Going back to work is not. "It's one of those things that I guess I'll just forever miss because I am not going out there again," he said. Haire tried for a week. The anxiety was crippling. Melatonin helps him sleep at night, but makes the dreams seem especially vivid. "Some days the rig is perfectly fine and I am just working out there with everybody. Other days, I am working and reliving the event. And some days, it's even worse," Haire said. Haire's been forced in testimony and deposition to relive the incident. He's not certain all the work to get answers to the Deepwater's questions answered all of his questions. "I hope those men lost their lives for a reason, that the industry is going to be much safer because of it," he said. And as we come up to the one-year anniversary Wednesday and spend time with tourists and fishermen who lost their summer and maybe more, Haire will remember all of it differently. "Sorry, choked up a little bit," he told us as he fought back tears. He's 26, a father of four-year-old twins, and he can't go back to work and can't escape the unforgettable disaster. "My mind started wandering a little bit. It's been a while since I've actually talked about it," he said. "You know, for me it will always be the disaster that took 11 friends -- not the gulf oil spill. When people say gulf oil spill, that's a different incident." (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) 

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