Motorcycle group honors biker killed by suspected drunk driver with ride in North Texas

The motorcyclist killed this weekend by a suspected drunk driver in Arlington died amid efforts to crack down on intoxicated driving in Tarrant County, according to authorities.

Julie Maldonado , 43, was hit Friday night by a drunk driver who ran a red light in Arlington while Maldonado was riding a motorcycle, according to Arlington police. Maldonado regularly rode with the Dallas Moto Group, a club that has nearly 1,000 members on Facebook.

Her death came after a Fort Worth police said a sergeant, Billy Randolph, was killed by a suspected drunk driver who hit him while he was working at the scene of a fiery crash on Interstate 35W on Aug. 12. A week later, a family of five was killed when police said a 19-year-old hit them on I-35W while driving drunk.

Authorities across Tarrant County participated this weekend in “Saturation Saturday,” an effort organized by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office announced at a news conference on Friday that police and sheriff’s deputies would inundate the streets to find intoxicated drivers.

Tarrant County agencies reported dozens of arrests during the operation.

Police respond to drunk driving

Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said the solution to drunk driving is simple: “Don’t drive drunk.”

“We at the Fort Worth Police Department are still mourning the loss of a friend, a brother, a hero, Billy Randolph, who was senselessly taken from us by someone who decided to drink and drive,” Noakes said at Friday’s press conference.

He recalled how just days after Randolph was killed, another driver who police said was driving drunk crashed into the back of a police vehicle with its emergency lights on along that same stretch of highway. The police Tahoe was unoccupied when the crash happened, and no officers were injured.

Noakes also mentioned the deaths of 48-year-old Willie Gunn ; Gunn’s girlfriend, Amber Hopewell, and Hopewell’s three children, ages 2, 4 and 9, in the Aug. 19 crash.

“These incidents happen because people chose to deliberately commit a dangerous and even deadly decision to get behind the wheel drunk,” Noakes said. “It’s not an accident — it’s a criminal act and those people are criminals for taking those actions.”

Noakes said Fort Worth police and other departments have dedicated teams who focus on catching drunk drivers, but that people who aren’t police should be working to educate each other and make plans for a designated driver or call a ride-share company like Uber.

“We’ve all got to be part of that solution because each and every one of our lives may depend on it,” Noakes said.

Sheriff Bill Waybourn said at the news conference that he has seen “an uptick” in the number of DWI arrests recently. He said Tarrant County is 100% no refusal for DWI tests and that drunk driving is totally preventable.

“We can stop this,” Waybourn said. “Do you remember when nobody wore seat belts? Now everybody puts seat belts on. ... We need that same thought with our citizens with this.”

He said law enforcement is dedicated to “hunt these people down and hold them accountable for it.” He echoed Noakes that it is important for people to plan out evenings before they go out to avoid a situation where they might drink and drive.

Who was Julie Maldonado?

Maldonado is being remembered by family and friends as an energetic, cheerful person who several people called a “firecracker.” She was the kind of person it didn’t take long to get to know.

Her daughter, Yari Vazquez, told the Star-Telegram at a memorial ride Monday night that Maldonado would have loved to see so many people coming together. Some passed out Hello Kitty stickers with “Julie” printed under the character, a nod to how she named her Ninja 400 motorcycle “Kitty” and had its decorations themed after the cartoon.

“This isn’t even a quarter of her biker family here,” Vazquez said at a QuikTrip in Grand Prairie, where they were gathering to start the ride. “So many people knew her and loved her, and it means a lot to see them here to honor her memory.”

Bikers in her group called her the “Puerto Rican Barbie” and knew she was a friend they could count on. Around 40 of those riders showed up Monday night to ride together in her honor.

Damien Espinoza, Maldonado’s boyfriend, was with her when the crash happened. He described her as the friendliest person he’s ever met.

“She’s the sun, she’s the brightness,” Espinoza said. “She was always quick to open her arms, especially for women who were new to being bikers. She always wanted to help women who were new.”

Espinoza said Maldonado loved to cook and loved to dance, and she’d often do both at the same time. She always had a smile on her face, whether when riding or at the gym or spending time with family or friends. She treated Espinoza’s children and grandson as her own.

Espinoza’s grandson called her “Abu JuJu,” or grandma JuJu (Julie). When her face was on the news this weekend, Espinoza recalled with tears how his grandson got excited and pointed, calling out “JuJu.”

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Maldonado first joined a riding group led by Lily Tonan. A Sunday slow ride, it was meant to give newer riders a place to get used to being on a motorcycle, staying off highways and keeping the pace slow.

Tonan said that when she leads rides, there are usually so many people she doesn’t get to know them all.

“I normally pay more attention to bikes than people because there are so many people, but you couldn’t not pay attention to Julie,” Tonan said.

Several people told the Star-Telegram Maldonado was serious about her safety when riding, wearing all the protective gear she could and riding cautiously, not speeding down highways or trying to do tricks.

Jeremy Suttie, a member of Dallas Moto Group, told the Star-Telegram in an email that the first time he met Maldonado, he felt like he’d known her for years.

“The first day I met her, she introduced herself to my daughter and begin speaking with her like they had known each other forever, like they were best friends,” Suttie told the Star-Telegram. “She was extremely passionate about her family and friends and loved having fun.”

He and Maldonado played softball together this year, he said. It was her first time playing the game and they had fun, no matter how well she did. Suttie’s last conversation with Maldonado was about how his daughter was moving to Washington and he would miss her, but that he would be OK because he knew he would see her again.

“Little did I know, within an hour of that, I’d actually be saying goodbye to Julie for the last time,” Suttie wrote.

Maldonado’s daughter said in the description for a GoFundMe that her mother brought positivity and happiness to almost any situation.

“My Mami was made of sunshine, glitter, Hello Kitty, and smiles,” Vazquez wrote.

Maldonado also had two younger sons. They’re struggling to understand and process the loss of their mother, Vazquez said.

She said Maldonado would make new friends anywhere she went. If she was somewhere without people she knew, it wouldn’t be long before she was on a first-name basis with at least one person.

Vazquez told the Star-Telegram that the family is working on funeral arrangements, and she’s trying to figure out how to be there for her younger brothers. She said she can’t be her mother, but that she’ll do her best to fill her shoes.

Another ride will be held Sept. 8 at 10 a.m., starting at Plano Kawasaki and going to the site where Maldonado was killed and the scene of a crash that killed Fantasia Williamson , who was participating in the same ride and died the same night in a crash in Fort Worth.