SAN ANTONIO – For the last three weeks, Sam Yeigh and his three kids have tried to learn to survive without a wife and mother.
“Her not being here kind of takes the joy out of life,” said Sam.
On Sept. 6, San Antonio police said Sasha Yeigh was driving the family’s car on Southwest Loop 410 when she ran out of gas and pulled over near New Valley Hi Drive.
When Sasha stepped out, police said a truck hit her.
“My wife took the brunt of the impact,” said Sam.
Juan Rabago, 27, is charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with Sasha’s death, according to online court records.
While Rabago awaits his day in court, Sam is dealing with the sudden loss of his wife.
“It’s a nightmare,” Sam said. “I’ll put it to you that way.”
Sam said that the nightmare has been intensified by a lack of answers.
He said he’s reached out to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office with no luck.
“I don’t get any return phone calls,” Sam said. “I haven’t got any answers on my emails. So I just feel like we got brushed under the rug.”
Police said the car that Sasha was driving is on hold at a city impound lot in San Antonio.
“My wife wasn’t inside my car; she got run over,” said Sam. “So what role does my car play in that?”
In an email, SAPD spokesman Ricardo Guzman said the court typically has all vehicles involved in fatality accident cases on hold as evidence until the case is closed.
An unnamed spokesperson for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said the office is still waiting for the final investigation report.
“It is necessary that our office maintain possession of the vehicle as evidence,” the office said. “We apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused the owner of the vehicle.”
SAPD and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office did not make anyone available for an interview regarding this story.
“How long could that car be tied up in the court system?” asked KSAT investigative reporter Daniela Ibarra.
“I have seen it, you know, these intoxication manslaughter sometimes can take two to three years to go through the court system,” replied defense attorney Jason Goss.
Goss has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a prosecutor.
This summer, Goss tried a case where prosecutors brought cars involved in a deadly crash to the courthouse as evidence.
“That doesn’t happen often, but it does happen sometimes,” said Goss.
Goss said prosecutors and defense attorneys have the right to examine a car and perform testing before deciding whether it’ll be needed in court, which could take a while.
“This is not the fault of the prosecution that the car is being kept,” explained Goss. “And that’s because what they’re really doing is making sure the defense has an adequate opportunity to inspect and to do what they need to do to make sure that there’s a fair trial.”
“When you hear that you’re going to be without your car for possibly more than a year, possibly more than two years, what do you think?” asked Ibarra.
“We’re pretty much hosed,” said Sam.
Until then, Sam plans to keep renting a car while paying off the other -- and wait.
“It’s callous, it’s cold, and it’s wrong,” he said. “And that’s about the best way I can put it.”
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
