Police Name Person Of Interest In Fatal Hit-And-Run

$5,000 Reward Available For Info That Leads To Arrest, Conviction

POSTED: 11:10 am CST January 13, 2005
UPDATED: 1:02 pm CST January 13, 2005

HOUSTON -- Crime Stoppers and Houston police need help finding the driver who fled the scene of a hit-and-run crash that left two people dead in September, Local 2 reported.

Slain Teens' Relatives Make Emotional Plea To Find Driver

At a Crime Stoppers news conference Thursday, relatives said 15-year-old Shalyn Nobles and 16-year-old Cody Joswiak were leaving the Navasota High School homecoming football game against Elgin on Sept. 17 and were headed to Surfside for their annual beach trip when they got stuck in traffic on the West Loop.

Police said the vehicle the teens were riding in had slowed down on the West Loop near Westheimer due to construction at about 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 18 when the driver of a white Pontiac Grand Am, reportedly driving at a high rate of speed, slammed into the Oldsmobile Alero Nobles and Joswiak were riding in. The force of the impact pushed the Alero into a Ford Taurus, killing the teens and injuring four others.

The teens' parents said the pain they feel now is as fresh as the day of the accident.

"In one instance, all of our lives changed forever. Kyle (Cody's younger brother) has never known a life without his older brother. He struggles daily, trying to learn how to live without him. As parents, we have been devastated by the loss of our child," Joswiak's mother, Jana, said.

"She was 15 and in her sophomore year of high school, working hard every day to keep her grades up so she could participate in the band on the drum line," Nobles' mother, Amie, said.

Nobles was a member of the Navasota High School Rattlers Marching Band.

Police said the driver of the Grand Am walked away from the scene without trying to help the victims.

Authorities said they want to talk with Gilberto Carlos Alfaro. He is being considering a person of interest because the Grand-Am that struck the teens' Alero was last registered in his name.

Police also said it is not a crime to be involved in a car crash that truly was an accident. However, if a motorist is involved in an accident and fails to stop and help, that person could face a charge of failing to stop and render aid.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to arrests and convictions in this case.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.

Copyright 2005 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. (posted at request of mother).