SAN ANTONIO – Two men were arrested and charged with the theft of a Chevrolet Camaro that police say collided with a small bus and killed five people on Interstate 35 last month, according to court documents.
Eric Perez, 21, and Matthew Espinosa, 18, were arrested Saturday and charged with burglary of vehicles, a misdemeanor criminal offense, according to the arrest warrants.
Perez is facing an additional charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a state-jail felony, while Espinosa is also charged with failure to identify himself, records show.
On Sunday, Perez posted a bond of $12,500 and Espinosa posted a bond of $5,000.
Surveillance video from July 15 captured Perez and Espinosa driving the stolen Camaro and breaking into another vehicle at a restaurant on the Southwest Side, the affidavit states.
Court documents say Perez was seen using “an instrument to pry and break the driver side door handle” of a Ford truck. He was then seen leaving the truck with a handbag and driving off in the stolen Camaro.
The owner of the truck reported that a Gucci bag with an unknown amount of money, bank cards, and personal information was stolen from his vehicle, records show.
Two days later, the Camaro collided with a small bus hauling a trailer, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
After the deadly crash, detectives found a black wallet with multiple bank cards and personal information with the truck owner’s name inside the Camaro.
KSAT asked SAPD for an update on the case and has not heard back as of Sunday afternoon. It is unclear if further criminal charges are expected.
5 killed, multiple injured after I-35 crash on Southwest Side
On July 17, the stolen Camaro attempted to weave between a small bus hauling a trailer and an 18-wheeler, according to a crash report obtained by KSAT.
Investigators said that the Camaro was traveling southbound at 70 miles per hour, a speed described as “unsafe” in the report.
It collided with the bus, which then struck a guardrail and was hit by an 18-wheeler, an SAPD preliminary report stated. The collision caused the bus to roll on its passenger side, ejecting multiple people.
>> ‘Cared for everybody’: Family remembers bus driver killed in I-35 crash on South Side
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said five people died in connection with the multi-vehicle crash.
The San Antonio Fire Department said eight people suffered life-threatening injuries, while 13 others were hospitalized with minor injuries.
McManus stated that the ages of those injured span from young children to older adults.
McManus also said four people, including one armed with an assault rifle, fled the Camaro and the scene of the crash.
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