Ah, Highway 87 and the FM 1585 overpass—the scenic route for anyone who enjoys dodging orange barrels or, apparently, people who think traffic lanes are “open to interpretation.” It’s been two years since Alex Noyola Castanon was killed by a wrong-way driver, and because this is Lubbock, the driver wasn’t just “confused”; they were rocking a blood alcohol content double the legal limit.
Alex’s longtime girlfriend, Mireya Ocegueda, is currently spending what should have been their four-year anniversary reminding the public that “driving while hammered” is actually a bad thing. They were supposed to get engaged this year and start a life together, but those plans were canceled by someone who decided that a $20 Uber was way too much of a commitment compared to a head-on collision.
Mireya is now a Registered Nurse at the same wound care clinic where Alex worked. It’s a nice “full circle” moment, if you consider “working at the same place your dead boyfriend did because a drunk person couldn’t find the right ramp” to be poetic. She’s out here pleading with the Hub City locals to “value their lives,” which is a big ask for a town where the most popular weekend activity is seeing how many domestic beers you can finish before your truck hits a ditch.
She wants people to remember that Alex existed and that he was a great person. It’s a shame that in Lubbock, “being a great person” usually just makes you a target for someone who thinks a 0.16 BAC is a challenge rather than a crime.
At this rate, should we just stop building overpasses and start building more morgues, or is that too much of a “downer” for the next City Council meeting?
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