KATY, Texas — A woman who was out on bond for a DUI is accused of being intoxicated when she hit and killed a young man from Katy and then left the scene.
Bond has been set at $500,000 for 22-year-old Iliana Zepeda. Zepeda has been charged with a second-degree felony offense of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and a second-degree felony offense of failure to stop and render aid in an accident involving death.
Family members identified the victim as 24-year-old Renzo Olano-Flores. He was driving home from a family member’s home after a night of playing poker and was just four minutes away from making it there.
“Everybody’s broken in here,” said Juan Olano, the victim’s older brother. “My baby brother is gone.”
Renzo was set to graduate from the University of Houston in May with a degree in construction management. His dream was to own his own construction company and build homes.
“I was so proud of him,” Juan Olano said. “Renzo ... he was a beautiful soul.”
Renzo was also going to be the godfather to his big sister’s unborn baby girl.
Investigators said that at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday, Zepeda had just left a bar where she’d been drinking when she ran a red light at the intersection of Franz Road and Westgreen Boulevard in Katy. Authorities said she hit Renzo Olano-Florez’s car, killing him. According to court documents, Zepeda then walked away from the scene but was later brought back by her sister.
“She ran away, she left my brother there by himself,” Juan Olano said.
At the time of the crash, Zepeda was out of bond for another DUI in May 2021. She was charged with hitting a vehicle from behind on I-45 at 4 a.m. and then leaving the scene. Investigators said she was later found sitting outside a hotel where she failed a field sobriety test.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, her bond was set at $100 but she didn’t pay anything before being released. One of her bond conditions was that she could not drink alcohol and that she needed to have a device installed in her car to prevent her from drinking and driving.
This time around, Zepeda’s bond is set at $500,000.
“We just want justice for my brother. One day he was here and one day he wasn’t. Just like a light switch,” Juan Olano said.
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