Wife of man charged in Hesse K-8 teacher’s death speaks exclusively to WTOC from Guatemala

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The wife of the man charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Hesse K-8 teacher Dr. Linda Davis spoke exclusively to WTOC this week, from Guatemala, in her first interview since the crash.

Noemí López Cabrera de Vázquez spoke with WTOC via WhatsApp. She said she was shocked to learn of the crash that killed Davis and sent her husband, Oscar Vasquez-Lopez, to jail.

Arrest and charges

Chatham County police arrested Lopez last Monday and charged him with vehicular homicide in Davis’s death. According to the Chatham County Police Department, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents attempted to pull Lopez over. He fled and crashed into Davis’s car, killing her.

DHS says Lopez, originally from Guatemala, is in the U.S. illegally and has had a deportation order since 2024.

Lopez has no prior criminal history. Following the crash, the White House described him as “the worst of the worst.”

Lopez’s Wife speaks out

De Vázquez said Lopez came to the United States seven years ago because a health condition left him unable to work in agriculture, which is the primary industry in their area of Guatemala.

“He was the one, the main one who helped us financially with expenses, with the girls’ education, with a dream of moving forward,” de Vázquez says.

She says Lopez’s work has allowed one of their five daughters to attend nursing school in the United States. She said his arrest has made the family’s future uncertain.

“He was just going to work, but he wasn’t going there with the intention of causing an accident. So, we asked ourselves, how did this happen?”

De Vázquez also says she believes ICE could have arrested her husband without a chase.

Misidentification by other media

De Vázquez said her pain deepened when another local media outlet identified a different woman in Savannah as Lopez’s wife.

“At that moment, I said ‘I can’t be searching for information,’ you know? I don’t know who she is. What matters to me right now is that he can get out,” de Vázquez said.

Prayers for Davis’ family

De Vázquez said she is asking the community not to judge her husband, while also keeping the family of Dr. Davis in her prayers.

“I feel a lot for the teacher’s family. The truth is that nobody wants to lose a family member, a loved one. Nobody. What can you do but break down in tears and say, ‘My God, what am I going to do now?’” de Vázquez says.

READ: Wife of Savannah teacher killed in crash shares her legacy

“Many people say, ‘Well, he’s guilty. Let him pay. He has to pay.’ But they don’t realize that he also has a family. The girls need his support,” she added.

Lopez remains in the Chatham County jail. At his first court appearance, a judge did not set bond.

De Vázquez said she has not been able to speak with him since his arrest.