Street view of the South Padre Island Drive access road near Kostoryz Road in Corpus Christi, where the fatal crash occurred. Source: Google Maps.
KEY DETAILS
DATE & TIME
March 2, 2024, around 1:30 a.m.
LOCATION
South Padre Island Drive at Kostoryz Road, Corpus Christi, TX
VICTIM
Driver Marissa Mendoza, 27, was killed on impact; her 23-year-old passenger suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and had to be extricated by Corpus Christi firefighters
ROAD CLOSURES
Police did not report specific lane or road closures, though crews needed time to clear the crash scene and extricate the injured passenger
INVESTIGATION
Garner Burford was arrested and charged with Accident Involving Injury or Death, was later convicted and sentenced to five years, and is now appealing that conviction, according to kiiitv.com
Garner Burford, the driver convicted in a 2024 hit-and-run crash that killed 27-year-old Marissa Mendoza in Corpus Christi, is now appealing his conviction after receiving a five-year sentence. Investigators say Burford was driving eastbound on the South Padre Island Drive access road near Kostoryz Road around 1:30 a.m. when he allegedly rear-ended Mendoza’s car while looking at his phone. The impact forced Mendoza’s vehicle off the road and into a concrete pillar of a building, killing her on impact, while her 23-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries. Burford allegedly fled the scene without stopping to help before he was later identified and arrested.
According to kiiitv.com, Burford appealed his conviction after being sentenced to five years for his role in Mendoza’s death. Corpus Christi police previously told kristv.com that traffic investigators obtained a warrant charging Burford with Accident Involving Injury or Death, and that Corpus Christi Fire Department crews had to extricate his surviving passenger from the wreckage. The case remains active as the appeal moves through the courts.
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KIII 3News
@kiii3news · Sep 15, 2026
Garner Burford appeals conviction after five-year sentence in deadly Corpus Christi crash
The eastbound access road of South Padre Island Drive (Highway 358) near Kostoryz Road, in front of the Oh My Goodness Craft Store in Corpus Christi, Texas
Texas law requires any driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death to stop, render reasonable aid, and remain at the scene. Fleeing under these circumstances is a felony under the Texas Transportation Code, and prosecutors used this statute to charge Burford after he allegedly left Mendoza’s crash site without stopping. A driver’s failure to comply with this duty can serve as strong evidence of negligence in a related civil claim.
When a crash involves more than one at-fault party, Texas apportions damages under its proportionate responsibility statute. This law allows a jury to assign a percentage of fault to each party, and a plaintiff’s recovery is reduced according to their own share of responsibility, if any. It gives injured victims a path to pursue compensation even when liability is contested.
This summary is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its specific facts.
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