Nearly three months after her two sons died in a tragic accident in Mexico, Erika Camacho finds comfort in a small oak tree at Finley Elementary that one day will shade future generations of students.
Surrounded by loved ones and the Finley Elementary principal and teachers, Camacho quietly sobbed at the tree-planting ceremony held to honor the memories of her only children.
“It was so beautiful, and I really loved it. At the same time, it was so hard,” Camacho said in a sit-down interview a few days after the ceremony on May 30.
Emiliano Quintanilla, 7, and Eduardo Quintanilla, 6, Camacho and her husband were on a transit van that plunged 400 feet into a ravine, catching fire in Santiago, Nuevo Leon, Mexico on March 23. The boys and husband, Josue Martinez, were among 12 people who died. Mexican officials blamed the accident on a mechanical failure. Camacho, 30, miraculously survived with third-degree wounds to over 50 percent of her body. They had been on vacation to celebrate her husband’s birthday which was on March 26.
Camacho, who was recovering from surgeries at a San Antonio hospital, was unable to attend the funeral services for her boys.
“I was in the hospital when it happened, and that was one of the things that I thought about. I wish I could have been there. My sister and brother called and Facetimed me but it wasn’t the same,” Camacho said.
Finley Elementary Principal Imelda Flores said the tree ceremony was a way of comforting the family and helping with the grieving process.
“This tree will stand as a symbol of our connective love and remembrance for Emiliano and Eduardo,” Flores said during the ceremony. “It is a place we can come to feel close to them and to remember the joy they brought and find solace in the enduring beauty of nature. May this tree flourish and grow just as the memories of Emiliano and Eduardo will forever flourish in our hearts.”
One by one, everyone hung ribbons on the tree branches and hugged Camacho and the boys’ father, Carlos Quintanilla. Emiliano’s first-grade basketball team also attended the ceremony. Teachers made a big memory box for the family, which included numerous photos, their drawings and other schoolwork.
Camacho said that she was forever grateful to Finley Elementary. Quintanilla also thanked the school for all the support and love.
Emiliano and Eduardo
Separated by one year, Emiliano and Eduardo were best friends as well as brothers. And while Emiliano was the older one at age 7, it was Eduardo, 6, who acted like a big brother, their mother recalled.
“Emiliano couldn’t talk when he started school. He had autism. He eventually would talk, and his teacher Mr. Cesar Harris was really, really a big help for us with him,” Camacho said. When I went to pick them up, Emiliano would say, ‘Mom, roll down the window!’ He would yell, ‘Mr. Harris, Mr. Harris, I love you, Mr. Harris’!”
Emiliano also loved playing on the basketball team, headed up by Coach Sergio Chapa. In remembrance of Emiliano, the coach named the athlete of the year award to The Emiliano Quintanilla Award.
“The school will still keep the name of that award. When he told us, we were so grateful to them and the school for sharing this with us and being with us,” Camacho said.
Eduardo was mature for his age, and insisted on caring for his brother and mother.
“He understood the autism and Eduardo would always take care of Emiliano,” Camacho said. “If Emiliano was trying to read or do homework, Eduardo would say, ‘I will show you. It’s not like this, it’s like this’.”
Camacho added that Eduardo liked to accompany her to HEB and he would bring his wallet. “Mom, can I pay for something?” Camacho remembered him saying.
“I will always be grateful for the time I spent with them. They were really close. Emiliano said that his best friend was Eduardo. They could never be separated and always had to be together,” Camacho said. “When the accident happened, I was crying. Why couldn’t I just keep one of them?”
A relative gently said, “They were always together, they had to be together and they had to go together.”
Camacho said it’s the little things the boys did that matter so much now.
“It’s been so hard, so hard to be without them. It’s just the little things. They did little things. One day, Eduardo said, ‘Look, mom. I brought you a heart sticker, a pink one. I held it all day for you.’ I thought it was just a sticker. Now I have that sticker in my truck,” Camacho said.
Emiliano had received the Student of the Month award just before they went on their trip.
“They were so happy. They were so good. They were so close. And they loved school. Eduardo would always get excited when he got 100. That last Friday at the school, they did a quiz and he didn’t get a chance to give me that quiz,” Camacho said. Test scores of 100 meant a celebration where the boys were allowed to go to the store and pick out something.
Healing Wounds
Eduardo pleaded with his mother that he wanted a baby sister.
“He would say, ‘I want a baby sister.’ I will help with the bottle of milk. I will help you, mom’,” Camacho said.
She told him that wouldn’t be possible. A few months before the accident, Camacho underwent a hysterectomy because of medical problems she had. Eduardo told her, “That’s ok, mom. I still have Emiliano’.”
“I told my mom that I want to have more kids and not because I want to replace them but I know how much happiness a son can bring you. It’s been really hard because now I know they were my last. And now I won’t be able to have that happiness again,” Camacho said.
Camacho is still recovering from the accident, and goes to physical therapy in San Antonio several times a week. She works for a freight forwarding company and will return in September.
“Right now, I am doing really good with the therapy, which is more like workouts,” said Camacho. “When I was in the hospital, they were really surprised that I was progressing so fast. They told me I could start therapy with walking, and when they said that, I was so happy because I wanted to get out of the hospital because it was really hard for me. At 9 p.m. my family would leave and it was very hard for me.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover the costs of the funerals and medical bills. Here is where you can contribute: Fundraiser by Paula Camacho : Emiliano and Eduardo Quintanilla funeral expenses
The fund has grown, and Camacho is grateful to everyone who has given to her - financially or otherwise. Now, she wants to give back.
“I want to help someone going through this. I just want to let people know that I am here if you ever need anything. I received a lot of help,” she said. “Right now I have people to talk to but at first, it was really hard for my brother and sister to understand what I was going through. I was talking to this lady (who experienced the loss of a child) and she understands me and she knows what I am going through. My brother and sister will always be there to listen.”
Camacho also said she is surviving because she knows her departed family is still with her.
“I am 100 percent sure that my kids and my husband are here with me. When I first started walking, when I was walking by myself, I was scared at first. I said please be with me, please walk with me, please be next to me. I feel safe that they are next to me,” she said.
She said she is also grateful to those that keep her children’s memories alive.
“A lot of people wrote to me, saying you don’t know me but … I got messages from people here and in Mexico,” said Camacho. “It feels good to know that there are so many who care about them and want to do things for them.”
Finley Elementary teachers and staff hang ribbons on the oak tree that was planted to honor the boys
The two young brothers were also best friends
Erika Camacho with her boys
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