Ezequiel Quintanilla, a well-known accordion player, was killed in a hit and run, driver wanted

Records show that Gregory Dewayne Smith was charged with his failure to stop and provide assistance related to the death. The fatal hit-and-run killed 32-year-old Ezequiel Quintanilla in southeast Houston.

Ezequiel Quintanilla, a well-known accordion player, and a friend were walking in the parking lot after seeing a friend’s band at El Buho Bar when they were struck. According to investigators, Quintanilla was run over and died at the scene.

Police say the friend was injured and survived.

“It was terrible. I can’t even talk about it that much because I’m starting to choke,” said Noe Quintanilla, Ezequiel Quintanilla’s brother. “He was a happy man. He had no enemies. He was a hard worker.”

According to court documents, Smith’s passenger told police they had been drinking and “he was screaming, he thought he had just run over someone”. She also said they left the scene.

At the time, Smith was out of prison on personal bail for a May 2021 DWI misdemeanor.

“Only someone who has no conscience does something like that. You can’t even classify someone like that as a person,” Noe Quintanilla translated for his mother.

Smith’s attorney Edward Okwueze questioned the passenger’s account, saying parts were conflicting. According to court records, she also told police she didn’t remember leaving the bar or getting into Smith’s black pickup truck.

“It’s a little bit amazing,” Okwueze told ABC13. “It raises legitimate doubts.”

Smith is not in Texas but plans to report next week, according to Okwueze.

“All in good time. ‘I’ll turn myself in when I’m ready,'” Ezequiel Quintanilla said in frustration. “My brother wasn’t ready. He didn’t have that time. He didn’t have that choice.”

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