Family of 6 who drowned in Hurricane Harvey related to Tejano superstar Selena
INSIDE EDITION - Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, said in a social media post that the four children and their great-grandparents were members of his extended family.
“Manuel Saldivar and his wife Velia and four of their grandkids left their flooded house to somewhere where there was safety,” he wrote.
“When they cross a bridge a wave of water swept the van and push (sic) them into the bayou,” Quintanilla said. “Manuel and his wife and four grandkids drowned.”
The dead have been identified as Manuel, 84, Belia, 81, Devy, 16, Dominic, 15, Xavier, 8, and Daisy, 6. They lived in Houston.
Quintanilla described the kids as grandchildren, but other family member said they were actually great-grandchildren.
Manuel’s mother was the first cousin of Quintanilla’s father.
"We are devastated," the youngsters' grandmother, Virginia, told NBC.
Selena, known as the “Queen of Tejano” music, was one of the most famous Mexican-American entertainers in recent times.
She died in 1995 at age 23 after she was shot by Yolanda Saldivar the president of her fan club and manager of the singer's fashion boutiques.