Selena Quintanilla’s Cousins Among the Victims of Hurricane Harvey

Abraham Quintanilla, the father of the late Selena Quintanilla, said that his cousins died during Hurricane Harvey. Officials are now reporting that 60 people are confirmed dead in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey that ravaged the southern part of Texas. Among those killed was a family of six including Manuel Saldivar, 84, his wife Belia, 81, and their four great-grand children: Daisy Saldivar, 6, Xavier Saldivar, 8, Dominic Saldivar, 14, and Devy Saldivar, 16. The family, along with the kid’s father Ric Salvidar and his brother were trying to leave the flooded zone and were taken away on a flooded bridge. The van was submerged and those inside perished. Ric and his brother were able to escape. The story gripped the nation soon after their death was announced because a father and mother lost their entire family. And now we’re learning more about them.

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In a now deleted Facebook post, Abraham said he was related to them.

“The family that drowned in Houston Texas were related to me,” Abraham wrote on Facebook, according to People Magazine. “Manuel Saldivar and his wife Velia and 4 of their grandkids left their flooded house to go somewhere where there was safety,When they crossed a bridge a wave of water swept the van and pushed them into the bayou the driver was saved but Manuel and his wife and 4 grandkids drowned. Manuel’s mother Carolina Was my father’s 1st cousin. My condolences to their family.”

Prayers & deepest sympathies to the Saldivar family for their tragic loss

Manuel & Belia Saldivar
Daisy, 6
Xavier, 8
Dominique, 14
Devy, 16 pic.twitter.com/BW2RCr3D5d

— Ted Corcoran (RedTRaccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) August 29, 2017

At least two GoFundme pages have been set up for the family. You can find those here and here. The community in Houston also came out to support Ric with a fundraiser and hundreds came out. The proceeds of the fundraiser helped to pay for the funerals.

In an interview with NBC News, Virginia Saldivar, the kid’s grandmother said her grandkids “were the sweetest kids. Devy loved animals, Starbucks and thrift store shopping. She was my sunflower, my sunshine. Xavier was the sweetest boy. He loved anything Army and playing video games. Daisy was our princess. She was grandpa’s girl. She loved kittens and dressing up, and watching YouTube videos. Dominic was my heart. He was the most amazing, loving boy. He loved playing his trombone, watching YouTube and playing video games. He loved his family and he would defend them against anything,”