HOUSTON — A graduation ceremony at the University of Houston was bittersweet for a Katy family.
They are proud of their son, Renzo Olano-Flores, for earning his degree in construction management ... but heartbroken he didn’t get the chance to walk across the stage.
Renzo was in his senior year at the University of Houston when he died. On Thursday, during the University’s commencement ceremony, Renzo was granted a posthumous degree by the College of Technology.
His older brother, Juan, accepted the degree in Renzo’s place while several family members tearfully watched from the audience.
Juan admits he and the family struggled with whether they would attend.
“We take it day-by-day,” Juan said. “We still have that bitterness that he’s not here with us.”
In the end, the family decided they would go to honor Renzo. Juan walked across the stage and collected the diploma in his younger brother’s place.
“I needed to do this for him,” Juan said, admitting he was nervous at first. “At the beginning, I didn’t know what to do. And then out of the blue, I just felt this strong wind from behind and I started walking and I got very emotional. I was imagining him being the one that was walking.”
After the ceremony, Renzo’s diploma was proudly hung alongside his brother and sister’s, on a special spot designated for diplomas on his mother’s wall.
“We were very, very proud of him,” Juan said. “I know he’s watching from above with a smile.”
In February, 24-year-old Renzo Olano-Flores was driving home from a family member’s home after a night of playing poker. He was down the road from his home when he was hit by an alleged drunk driver.
Ilianna Zepeda, 22, is 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.
Investigators said that at about 2:20 a.m., 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.
Her bond was set at $1 million. Zepeda was out on bond for a previous DUI charge at the time of the crash.