A teacher and a 1-year-old child have died after a car crashed into a preschool fence near Fair Oaks. Police believe the crash was unintentional.
ExcellED Montessori Plus Preschool and Daycare teacher Alexia Rosales, 22, died in the Dec. 19 crash; her student, Mkaya Amrani, died on Thursday.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office on Friday said the other four children who were transported to the hospital were discharged later that same day. The only child who remained hospitalized for weeks was Mkaya.
The vehicle that crashed into the fence of the preschool belonged to a parent in their 30s who picked their children up from school after a holiday performance at the school.
ExcellED Montessori Plus is a local preschool system with five schools in San Antonio and Fair Oaks near Boerne, located in northern Bexar County. It opened at the Fair Oaks/Boerne campus in 2018, and has programs for infants starting from 10 weeks up to kindergarten, and after school programs for kids up to 12 years old.
The crash happened around 4 p.m. when the vehicle accelerated into another car, both cars running into a fence and onto several children on the other side who had been playing on a playground.
Victims were pinned under the vehicle, which had to be lifted from the scene by fire officials.
Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters at the scene that all victims were “very young children” and sustained various, including minor and critical injuries.
Salazar said the driver may not face any criminal charges for the “very tragic accident” because of a medical history that may have contributed to the crash.
“We don’t know much about the medical condition of the driver,” Salazar said at the time. “She does have a past medical history that may have contributed to this …. It’s a possibility there may have been some sort of medical issue that took place.”
Salazar said a deputy with the BCSO Traffic Enforcement Unit who is also a drug recognition expert instructor did not identify symptoms of drug use or intoxication in the driver at the scene.
Since that day, the Amrani family hasn’t been able to wake up from what they say feels like a nightmare. They’ve had no updates on the investigation and each day brings up new questions.
Should the driver have been driving that day, given their medical condition? Which medical professional cleared this person to drive? Should this person have their driver’s license suspended or revoked to prevent this from happening again?
The BCSO has not released the name of the driver, and although no charges have been filed, the investigation remains ongoing, it said.
The Amrani family has asked to review the surveillance footage to ensure accountability.
“I’m struggling to find closure during this difficult time,” Mkaya’s mother, who asked not to be named. “Before this tragic incident, I never had any safety concerns about the school, but now I am deeply worried due to the lack of information and the uncertainties surrounding what happened.”
The Amrani family, a Latino family living in San Antonio, had celebrated Mkaya’s first birthday in October. They described her as an effervescent, spirited little girl who loved camping and loved playing with her brother. She had recently seen Santa for the first time at the Old West Christmas Light Fest.
“My family and I urgently need the investigators and the District Attorney’s Office to do their jobs and provide us with the answers we desperately seek — not only for Mkaya, but also for Alexia. Their lives mattered, and we deserve closure and justice,” she said.
After the crash, the Fair Oaks campus closed. It re-opened Monday and had a visit from the the Therapy Animals of San Antonio. Two German shepherds, a golden retriever and a French bulldog were hard at work providing comfort and healing to staff and students with their gentle presence.
“Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and loved ones impacted by this unimaginable loss. The Excelled Montessori community is united in grief, and we are committed to providing all the support and resources needed during this difficult time,” the school said in a statement.
