SAN ANTONIO – A far west Bexar County street where a man allegedly caused a deadly crash while driving 108 miles per hour is a regular speed zone, according to people who live and work in the area.
The April 23 crash happened at an intersection along Alamo Ranch Parkway between Alamo Parkway and Lone Star Parkway.
Bexar County sheriff’s investigators officially arrested Richard Aron Gonzales, 20, over the weekend in connection with the crash.
An official booking photo shows Gonzales still in a hospital, where he was being treated for injuries he suffered in the crash.
Patricia Browning, 71, was killed after her SUV was T-boned and rolled over several times. Investigators said Gonzales was driving 108 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
“She didn’t see anything coming. It was going too fast. No one could even see that,” said Josh Mendez, who was working at a nearby car wash and witnessed the crash. “People are going way too fast on these neighborhood streets.”
Mendez, who spoke to KSAT 12 the day after the crash, said Browning had just pulled out from a shopping center parking lot and was heading toward a built-in turnaround in the road when her vehicle was hit.
Mendez said he has seen numerous close calls in that same area, usually involving drivers who are exceeding the speed limit.
“I’m always telling everybody, ‘You’ve got to watch out. Don’t use this intersection,’” Mendez said.
Joseph Buffington, who also lives and works in the area, said he believes the traffic troubles are caused by a combination of bad drivers and bad road design.
“The closest light’s all the way down there,” Buffington said, pointing toward Lone Star Parkway. “People love to speed through here all the time because they still think they’re coming off the highway.”
State Highway 151 dead-ends just outside Loop 1604 and turns into Alamo Ranch Parkway, which then leads into commercial and residential areas.
“I think it’s also just a visibility issue,” Buffington said, pointing out other problems. “You can’t see hardly anything when you’re trying to make turns.”
Data from the Texas Department of Transportation shows there have been 15 other crashes along the same stretch of Alamo Ranch Parkway since January 2025.
The Bexar County Public Works Department was already in the process of conducting a study of traffic flow in the area before last week’s deadly crash. A spokesperson told KSAT 12 that the crash will be incorporated into the ongoing study.
While there are no official solutions to what people see as a speeding problem, there are suggestions.
Mendez believes the answer may be to add more traffic lights.
Buffington, however, has his doubts.
“I don’t think they’d ever put a light right here because this isn’t a main road,” Buffington said. “Maybe (add) a yield or even a stop sign.”
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