FALFURRIAS, Tx — On Wednesday, April 17 just minutes after workers clocked out for the day, surveillance footage from the Falfurrias Family Pharmacy shows a truck crashing through the side wall of the building and pushing through numerous shelves causing a domino effect.
“We’re pretty sure when we were pulling out of the parking lot we passed the vehicle on the way out, so if we took one more phone call or did one more little task around the pharmacy we probably would’ve been standing right here in this spot when it happened,” Pharmacist in Charge Jonathan Dusek said.
Dusek said some staff went out that night to check out the damage, but they weren’t the only ones who stayed up later than expected.
“That night, Alamo Lumber they reopened after hours so we could get lumber for a temporary patch. The Chief of Police had a night patrol outside the building. The utility companies were here within minutes. A lot of city and county officials were here for us that night. It was a late night for a lot of us,” Dusek said.
But Dusek said with Falfurrias being a small community with not many pharmacies to choose from, their pharmacy had no choice but to keep moving forward, despite the setback.
“We just ended up doing nearly 100% deliveries the following day and anybody that needed their prescription sooner we would walk it cross the street and do curbside pick up,” Dusek said.
As for the driver, Falfurrias Chief of Police William Barton said he didn’t hang around and wait for them.
“[The truck] It reversed right out after doing a whole bunch of damage. We actually had some officers ad thend deputies right down the road that started a pursuit with the vehicle. The vehicle continued til it wrecked out again in front of Mcdonald's. He hit the building so hard his head hit the windshield. He had hair and part of his head stuck in the windshield still,” Barton said.
Police identified the man as Jose Roel Alaniz III. Police suspect drugs or alcohol could have played a role. The driver was sent to the hospital through HALO-Flight. Barton said police are getting all the records and information and will issue warrants once he gets out of the hospital.
No lives were lost during this accident. The pharmacy is working to restore the inside of the building. They also plan on redoing the paint job on the outside and working with local students to have a hometown mural put up.
