LAREDO – A Sunday night drive home from San Antonio turned deadly when 20-year-old Brianna Aguilera was ejected and killed in a violent single-vehicle rollover on Interstate 35, just north of Cotulla.
Texas DPS says the crash happened around 11:47 p.m. Sunday. Brianna was riding in a 2018 Dodge Charger with three friends when the driver lost control on a rain-slicked curve, struck the guardrail, and the car flipped multiple times. Brianna, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
SUPPORT THE FAMILY - GOD BLESS YOU
The driver and two other passengers were airlifted to San Antonio Military Medical Center with serious injuries. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor.
By Monday morning, the entrance to United High School was lined with flowers, balloons, and Brianna’s senior portrait. Classmates, still wearing their red and navy spirit shirts, hugged and cried in the parking lot as news spread.
Brianna graduated from United in 2023, where she was a member of the Longhorn Band color guard and known for staying late after games to help freshman girls with their routines. Friends say she had just started classes at Laredo College and was planning to become an elementary school teacher “because kids made her laugh like nobody else.”
“She was the friend who would drop everything if you texted ‘I need you,’” former classmate Marissa Garcia posted alongside a photo of the two at graduation. “20 is too young to be gone.”
Hundreds gathered Monday night at North Central Park for an impromptu candlelight vigil. Someone played Brianna’s favorite Bad Bunny song on a portable speaker while her mom clutched a color-guard flag and sobbed.
A GoFundMe titled “Brianna’s Wings” has raised more than $65,000 in 24 hours to help with funeral expenses and to buy seatbelt-awareness PSA billboards along I-35 in her memory.
Services are pending at Joe Jackson North Funeral Chapels. The family asks everyone to wear red or United High spirit wear.
“Click it for Bri,” her little brother wrote online. “She always told me to buckle up. I wish I could tell her one more time.”
Laredo’s hearts are heavy tonight.
Rest easy, beautiful. The Longhorn family will carry your flag forever. ❤️🎀 #ForeverBrianna #UnitedStrong