Andrea Mercedes Palacios, the girlfriend of Arizona Cardinals soccer player Jeff Gladney, also died in the traffic accident reported on Monday in Texas.
Palacios’ family confirmed on Tuesday that the girl of 26 years was with Gladney, of 25, at the time of the fatal crash.
The couple was traveling in a white Mercedes SUV at about 2: 30 am in Dallas when the athlete’s vehicle hit another.
It is unclear who was driving the vehicle at the time of impact. The authorities believe that speed was one of the factors that led to the tragedy.
A video shared on the internet by relatives of Palacios shows the young woman inside a car that Gladney was driving. There are no details on whether the images were recorded the same night as the accident.
According to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, the Mercedes SUV was traveling at excessive speed and rear-ended the another car. The SUV then lost control and collided with a freeway dock beam. Two people were traveling in the other car, who were not injured.
“Two great souls”, said the brother de Palacios, John Paul Figueroa, to the NBC network. “She was a loving, selfless person,” he added.
Palacios worked with his brother at the transportation firm Ride4Health.
“It is with great sadness and regret that we share with you the loss of one of our extended Ride4Health employees. Early yesterday morning, Ride4Health, a Dallas, Texas executive service location, lost a very valuable employee, a loving member of our family, and a beautiful friend,” reads a tribute message to the young woman on Facebook.
“Mercedes Palacios tragically died in a vehicle accident near Dallas. She was 26 years old. She worked at Ride4Health under the direction of her brother John Paul,” the post adds.
“Please join us in praying for Mercedes and John Paul during this extremely difficult time. And keep his relatives, friends and the extended Ride4Health family in your thoughts and continued prayers. We say it all the time, Ride4Health is a family. We are here to support John Paul and each other”, continues the message.