An attorney representing two of the families estimates a jury could award a $100 million to $200 million verdict.
TEXAS, USA — A $1 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in Bexar County against H-E-B and multiple transportation companies following a crash in the Texas Panhandle that killed four women in November 2025.
The lawsuit stems from a Nov. 5 crash on U.S. Highway 87 in Hartley County, where an 18-wheeler hauling H-E-B merchandise rear-ended a car carrying four women from the Houston area. All four were killed.
Attorney Sadi Antonmattei of the Kherkher Garcia Law Firm in Houston represents the families of two of the victims and said the families are “devastated” by the loss.
According to Antonmattei, the women were traveling in a black Nissan Altima headed home from a Colorado girls trip, when they experienced a flat tire and began slowing down with their hazard lights activated.
The vehicle was then struck from behind by a tractor-trailer driven by Guadalupe Villarreal.
“What I do know is that they were slowing down, had their hazards on, and at that point they get rear-ended by a truck,” Antonmattei said.
Villarreal was a commercial driver for Scrappy Trucking, which had been hired by Parkway Transport.
Antonmattei said Parkway Transport is owned by H-E-B and was transporting merchandise for the grocery chain at the time of the crash. The load reportedly consisted of 80,000 pounds of potatoes.
A crash report states Villarreal failed to control his speed.
Antonmattei said video of the crash shows no indication the truck driver attempted to brake or take evasive action.
“We see on that video no indication that he attempted to slow down, no indication that he attempted an evasive maneuver to the left,” Antonmattei said. “In our mind, that’s a giveaway that he was not paying attention.”
The law firm has sent preservation letters to H-E-B’s attorneys seeking access to the 18-wheeler for inspection.
Antonmattei said investigators plan to examine vehicle data, including speed, acceleration and braking, to determine whether Villarreal attempted to stop before the collision.
The firm is also investigating Villarreal’s background, training and driving history, as well as the safety records of Scrappy Trucking and Parkway Transport and how drivers were vetted.
“We need to look at all these companies’ efforts to make sure that when they put these 80,000 pounds in motion on our highways, they ensure they’re in safe hands,” Antonmattei said.
The victims were identified as 19-year-old Lakeisha Brown, 30-year-old Breanna Brantley, 20-year-old Myunique Johnson and 27-year-old Taylor White.
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages and names H-E-B, LP, Parkway Transit, Inc., Scrappy Trucking, LLC and driver Guadalupe Villareal as Defendants.
Antonmattei said a jury could potentially award far more.
“They’re going to tell us what they think is just compensation to compensate the four families that lost these beautiful young ladies,” he said, estimating a possible verdict of $100 million to $200 million.
Antonmattei also says their firm has also taken measures to preserve evidence such as dashcam footage, and Villarreal’s mobile communications devices on the date of fatal accident.
According to the crash report, Villarreal was charged with criminally negligent homicide.
H-E-B released the following statement.
“Our H-E-B Family is devastated by this tragic accident, which resulted in the loss of the young women involved. The incident involved a third-party vendor driver, not an H-E-B Partner. H-E-B and the contractor are fully cooperating with the investigation.”