Austin couple gets free wedding after crash

AUSTIN -- This Valentine’s Day, an Austin couple shares their story of love, commitment and generosity. 

KVUE first reported on Kellie Mandley and Luke Hsiao in 2011, after Mandley was severely injured in a car crash, suffering a spinal cord injury. Hsiao stayed by her side, nursing her back to health and helping with her physical therapy.

Shortly after the accident, Hsiao got on bended knee and proposed to Mandley while she was in the hospital. The two had dated for seven years before the accident, meeting their freshman year at Texas A&M University.

"He swept me off my feet. That’s how it all started,” said Mandley. 

"I just wanted to get to know more about her the second I saw her,” said Hsiao. 

Mandley uses a wheelchair, and Hsiao is her primary caregiver, helping her with everyday things from cooking dinner to doing her hair. 

"Spinal cord injuries affect a lot more than just your legs. She has limited dexterity in her fingers," said Hsiao. 

Mandley has endured hundreds of hours of physical therapy continuing to keep her outgoing, upbeat attitude, and she is now ready to tie the knot. 

"I’m finally more confident. I’m building my strength and becoming more independent," said Mandley. 

After the story of their engagement aired on KVUE in 2011, wedding planner Donna Gostecnik offered to plan their wedding for free. 

"The fact Luke has stayed with her and been an integral part of her recovery is just, you just don’t see that these days,” said Gostecnik. 

She contacted wedding businesses in Austin who are donating everything for free to make the couple’s day special. 

This week they discussed their groom’s cake and tasted flavors at Sweet Treet’s Bakery. 

"It’s such a sad but sweet story, and I’m the type of person once I found out what a fighter she is, I had to help out,” said Sweet Treet’s Bakery owner Jackie McGrath. 

"I’m just so happy. I don’t think I would be planning a wedding if it weren’t for everyone else," said Mandley. 

Vista West Ranch is providing the wedding venue and reception area. Pink Avocado is providing the catering. Alfred Angelo donated Mandley's wedding dress. Blonde Faith Salon is providing a stylist. Teri Palmer is doing her make-up. Petal Pushers is donating flowers. Hill Country Cupcakes are doing the main wedding cake. Premiere Party Central and Le’Sha Designs are donating rental equipment. Marci Palmer is doing the photography. Obi Ariguzo is the videographer. Musical Discovery Chamber is providing wedding music and ProMusic DJs is providing the reception music. Central Texas J Booth is donating a photo booth. 

The couple still need a place to hold their rehearsal dinner, a limousine, hotel rooms and a tuxedo for the groom. Contact Donna Gostecnik at her website, The Wedding Belles to donate. 

The wedding is set for Sept. 14, 2014.

Source: KHOU (Mingus 02/14)

Friends, family remember Vista Ridge students killed

CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Two Vista Ridge High School teenagers died after a crash in Cedar Park last night.

Police say 17-year-old Taylar Lesser and 18-year-old Nathaniel Gomez were traveling north on Parmer lane when they crossed over the median and into oncoming traffic. A Volkswagen hit their car. The teenagers died at the scene.

Crowds of people visited the crash site Saturday evening to set up a memorial with balloons, crosses and pictures.

"We found out this morning at 4:00 when we got a knock on the door," said Gomez' mother Michelle Gonzales.

Gonzales described her son as a hard worker. Gomez would have graduated this year.

"I knew it couldn't have been my Nathaniel, but it was," she explained.

Friends know Lesser as the girl with a kind heart.

"She left a mark on Vista and I wanted to make sure that even people who didn't know who she was, knew she was a good person," said her friend Ashley Cooper.

But also friends knew the students together.

"They were the high school couple. Everyone knew them," Cooper said.

They had been dating since 2012. Friends said they rarely saw the couple apart.

"You didn't know them as 'Taylar and Nathaniel,' you knew them as 'Taylar AND Nathaniel,'" Cooper said.

"She was like our daughter. Any get-together we had she was invited, she came. She was part of the family," Gonzales said.

Friends said right now it still doesn't seem real. They won't see their classmates in school on Monday.

"I just was like 'No, it's not happening, not real. I'm going to see her.' And like, I know she's not," Cooper said.

By the end of the night friends sat closer to one another, huddled together around the memorial sharing stories and memories of Taylar and Nathaniel.

"It's extremely comforting and we're glad that he is surrounded by people like this," Gonzales explained.

"I want people to know, she was a great friend," Cooper said.

Friends say they've ordered bracelets to remember the students by. The school principal sent a letter to students and parents saying counselors will be available on campus this week.

Source: KVUE News, "Friends, family remember Vista Ridge students killed," Shannon Murray, January 11, 2013

All lanes of I-30 at Dalrock open after pileup over Lake Ray Hubbard

ROWLETT –– Dallas police say a 23-year-old man was arrested for intoxication assault in connection with a 13-vehicle pileup that shuttered Interstate 30 in both directions over Lake Ray Hubbard before dawn Friday.

Christopher Anthony Sosa was arrested and charged Friday morning, according to a police spokesperson. He was booked into the Dallas County Jail. It's not clear whether Sosa caused the accident –– heavy fog is also suspected to have played a role.

At about 7:50 p.m., more than 16 hours after the crash, all lanes at Dalrock Road were reopened.

While the accident spurred traffic woes for drivers, it also created a problem for some area businesses.

"Everybody nowadays is in a hurry to get somewhere," said Brian Vosburg, an employee at Parkway Car Care, which is located along Highway 66. "And when you get stuck in something like that there are no words to describe it."

Vosburg said on average he works on 12 to 18 vehicles a day. Friday, he worked on three.

The owner of the business said their supplier of vehicle parts was stuck in traffic, which put the business two days behind.

"If I'm not turning wrenches working on cars, I'm not making a whole lot of money," Vosburg said.

TxDOT sent crews to help control traffic on either side of Lake Ray Hubbard and repair the 500 feet of concrete median barrier that was damaged in the wreck, said Tony Hartzle, department spokesman.

“Both directions are going to be shut down for multiple hours; motorists need to find an alternate route around this area just to stay away,” Hartzle said in the midst of the cleanup. “The detours are going to be fairly substantial for the next couple of hours.”

As dawn broke over the lake, Dallas police Sgt. David Conley said the wreck involved six 18-wheelers and seven cars. A total of eight people were taken to Baylor Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, said Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans.

One of the 18-wheelers visibly jack-knifed into the median before coming to a stop. A trail of debris was scattered about the four-lane highway behind it. Fog was a likely culprit in the collision, Hartzle said. Not long before the crash, The National Weather Service issued a Dense Fog Advisory that expired at 9 a.m. as visibility in some areas dipped to below a quarter of a mile. The NWS advises drivers to slow down and use their low-beam headlights when driving through fog.

Eastbound drivers were forced to take the Zion Road exit while those headed west took the Ridge Road exit. Both were significantly backed up at 6 a.m., as reported by News 8's Brian Glenn.

Evans said units were called at 3:30 a.m. to help. Hazardous materials crews were on-scene cleaning up vehicle fluids. No one had to be extricated from a vehicle by Dallas Fire-Rescue, Evans said.

A Rockwall Police Department dispatcher says a few units assisted with blocking off the Dalrock Road exit but had no additional information. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Garland Police Department are also helping investigate.

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Source: WFAA (Goodman, 1/10)