Mother of dead motorcyclist forgives other driver

MISSION — Two families whose lives have been altered forever met face to face outside a Mission courtroom Friday.

The family of a motorcycle rider who died in a collision and the family of the man who crashed into him embraced one another and briefly exchanged words of support.

The encounter happened about noon following the arraignment of Oscar Cantu, 17, who was charged with criminally negligent homicide in the death of Roosevelt Martin, 33.

After the teen’s arraignment, the Cantu and Martin families briefly spoke to and hugged one another. Nellie Martin, Roosevelt’s mother, said she forgives Cantu for the crash.

“Everybody makes mistakes,” she said. “He wasn’t intending to do it. It was an accident. Like I said, I can’t judge anyone.”

Cantu could face six months to two years in state jail if convicted. His bond was set at $25,000.

Nellie Martin said her son was an employee at Criterion, a healthcare provider in Mission. He had two sons who he loved dearly.

“It’s going to be a great loss. … We’ve just got to go on,” she said.

The Thanksgiving holiday was difficult this year without Roosevelt around, said his brother Ricky Martin, who was also at Cantu's arraignment.

The crash happened just before 5 p.m. Wednesday. Cantu was traveling east in his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck on Farm-to-Market Road 495 and attempting to turn onto left onto Conway Avenue when he struck Roosevelt, who was traveling west on FM 495, police said.

Witnesses told police they had a green light as they drove behind Martin on FM 495, when Cantu’s truck turned in front of him.

Cantu told police his light was green but could not say whether he had a green turn arrow.

Roosevelt died at McAllen Medical Center. Cantu was taken to the same hospital but was released.

A blood sample was taken from Cantu after the collision, a standard procedure following fatal crashes, to detect the presence of any drugs or alcohol. However, police don’t suspect Cantu was under the influence, said Mission police spokesman Lt. Martin Garza.

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Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.