SAN DIEGO — A wrong-way crash on Interstate 15 through San Diego County on August 26 took the life of 32-year-old Yannira Rodriguez, who was a loving mom, sister, social worker, and student.
She had her daughter in the car, and the two were only a few minutes away from home.
Rodriguez of Linda Vista died in the crash. It happened Sunday morning, around 1:30 a.m., south of Aero Drive.
"She was amazing. She was unapologetic," Zulma Beckfield-Rodriguez said, who is her older sister. There are best friends, and then there are sisters," she added.
Yanny, as she called her, and her niece had all spent the day together. They watched a movie that night before the two headed home. Then, minutes later, her niece, who survived the crash, called with the unimaginable news.
"I intend to get her trauma counseling and make sure she's well taken care of," Beckfield-Rodriguez said.
California Highway Patrol said Andres James Cox was at the wheel. He is a 25-year-old man from La Mesa. Officers said he was in a white Infiniti SUV when he slammed head-on into her black Honda - then kept going north in the southbound lanes, striking another vehicle. A tan Nissan with a 48-year-old woman inside was not injured. The alleged drunk driver went to the hospital, complaining of cuts on his forehead.
"Tell those you love that you love them, but at the end of the day - this could have all been prevented," Yannira's sister said. "She was a social worker, she volunteered at migrant shelters in Tijuana, she fed the homeless, she was a phenomenal mom and friend."
The family set up this GoFundMe account to help support their daughter's education.
Cox posted bail and will be back in court on September 11.
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