SAN ANGELO, TX — The man who was fatally hit last week while riding his bicycle will be honored and remembered today. Friends and family of Jacob Michael Martinez, 33, are welcome to a viewing and rosary at 7 p.m. today at Harper Funeral Home, 2606 Southland Blvd.
Jacob Martinez died from injuries sustained when a driver of a 2003 Chevrolet 2500 pickup hit Jacob while he was riding his bicycle on the night before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, Nov. 21.
Jacob died in the hospital Wednesday night as a result of injuries sustained in the hit-and-run.
Jacob’s bicycle was dragged about three blocks near Westcliff and the 1900 block of Van Buren, according to police. The truck fled the scene sending San Angelo police on a daylong hunt for the suspect over the holiday.
Thanksgiving evening, San Angelo police arrested Clayton Dunn, 48, who was booked into the Tom Green County Jail and charged with Accident Involving Death.
Jacob’s father, Paul Martinez, expressed much grief, as has all of his family. He said the police caught the suspect who did it, but recognizes Dunn is innocent until proven guilty. Paul has little doubt about who killed his son. But in an open letter, the father directed most of his anger at the truck.
Here are excerpts:
“I know you claim to have not been involved in the hit and run last Wednesday that killed my son. I guess it is possible that you are telling the truth. After all, due process is first needed before we convict anybody of a crime,” the father said.
“Let me say what we do know. Your truck was involved in a hit and run accident, how do we know this? The evidence found on your truck leaves no doubt. I must trust you know this fact already. However, let me tell you some things your truck did that you may not know.
“Your truck took my son away from me forever. Your truck made a 14-year-old son and 2 younger children orphans. Your truck also made my daughter cry and hurt like I have never seen her do when she called to give me the news of her brother’s death. She made the call but she never got past “Dad…” Her husband had to take the phone and tell me the news,” Paul Martinez said. He lives in San Antonio.
“Your truck took my peaceful Wednesday night and turned it into a horrible life changing evening. Your truck caused me to Google search a funeral home so that we could make an appointment to have the family meet and go over the details of laying our son to rest.
“Your truck depleted funds from a family that none of us could really afford to depart with so that we could give my son a decent burial, so in essence I guess, your truck screwed up our Christmas.
“Your truck made me witness my son’s mother being forced to choose a casket for our 33-year-old son. Your truck didn’t hold back on its destructiveness, it made us sit through 2 hours of deciding what my son should wear for the viewing along with other preparations I had never even imagined.
“But besides killing my child, the other thing your truck did that was very painful was seeing our sons’ body laying on a table with visible signs of the incision that was made to open his head and chest during the autopsy.
“Your truck tore my son’s mother apart when she saw him lying on that stainless steel bed, her cries were so heart-wrenching that I had to leave the room. We are going to bury our son Tuesday but since you claim innocence, I just wanted you to know what your truck did last week.
“I hope that you can figure out who took your truck from your house that night, killed a father, son, brother, uncle, and friend, and then brought the truck back to your house and parked it back in the driveway. The evidence seems to implicate you as the driver but I guess you are really the only one that knows the truth,” Paul Martinez said.
“Our family truly appreciates the outpouring of support we have received during this difficult and heartbreaking time,” Paul Martinez said.
San Angelo police have not officially released the name of Jacob Martinez as being the victim of this crime.
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