Police say surveillance video contradicted the rider’s first account of the fatal crash.
SAN ANTONIO, TX — A San Antonio man has been charged months after his roommate fell from the back of his motorcycle during an alleged late-night race on the city’s West Side and later died, police records show.
Marcus Garcia, 38, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of highway racing causing serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony. Investigators accuse him in the death of 29-year-old Brittani Flanders, who was riding as a passenger on Feb. 19. The charge moves the case from a fatal crash investigation into a felony prosecution tied to speed, racing and what police described as Garcia’s lack of motorcycle experience.
The crash happened about 12:15 a.m. on Culebra Road near Tezel Road. Police said Flanders was riding westbound when she fell from a Honda motorcycle and suffered severe injuries. Emergency medical crews took her to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died from blunt force injuries and ruled the manner of death an accident. Garcia first told police he had witnessed the crash, according to an arrest affidavit. He said he and Flanders had gone out for a ride before meeting two strangers on another motorcycle. He told officers the riders stopped near Culebra Road and Grissom Road, made a hand signal and switched passengers before continuing west.
Investigators later said video from businesses along Culebra Road did not support Garcia’s account. According to the affidavit, footage from three stores showed two motorcycles traveling at high speed and appearing to race. Audio from one location captured an engine revving before the motorcycles took off from the area of Culebra and Tezel roads. Police said later footage showed the riders trying to outpace or outdistance each other. Investigators calculated that the lead motorcycle was traveling more than 70 mph in a 45 mph zone. The affidavit says Flanders fell from Garcia’s motorcycle during the race because of hard acceleration and Garcia’s lack of experience and training.
Garcia had told officers that the unknown rider was carrying Flanders when she disappeared from the back of the other motorcycle, according to the affidavit. He said he turned around and found her unconscious and bleeding from her head. Police said their review of surveillance video led them to a different conclusion. Investigators said Garcia was the rider carrying Flanders when she fell. The affidavit also says the Honda was the first motorcycle Garcia had owned and that he did not have a motorcycle license. Police have not publicly identified the other rider. It was not immediately clear whether investigators had located that person or whether any other charges were being considered.
The case adds to wider concerns in San Antonio about illegal street racing and high-speed driving on public roads. The fatal fall happened on a major West Side corridor lined with businesses, intersections and late-night traffic. Police records describe the alleged race as taking place across several blocks of Culebra Road, with cameras from separate stores helping investigators build the timeline. The videos became central to the case because Garcia’s first statement placed Flanders on another motorcycle at the time she fell. The affidavit instead points to Garcia’s motorcycle, his speed and his inexperience as key factors in the crash.
Garcia was booked into the Bexar County jail with bail set at $150,000. If convicted of the second-degree felony charge, he could face two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Court records and police filings will guide the next steps, including any bond hearing, indictment review or future court setting. Prosecutors will have to prove the elements of the highway racing charge and connect the alleged racing conduct to the injury that led to Flanders’ death. Garcia is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Flanders’ death was first handled as a fatal motorcycle crash, but the investigation shifted after detectives gathered video, reviewed audio and compared those records with Garcia’s statement. The affidavit describes a late-night ride that began as a joyride and ended with Flanders critically injured on Culebra Road. Police said the motorcycle involved was Garcia’s Honda. The records do not say whether Flanders was wearing a helmet, and they do not list any public statement from her family. The documents also do not say how long the alleged race lasted before she fell.
Garcia remained in custody after his arrest as the felony case moved into the Bexar County court system. The next milestone will be a court appearance or grand jury review, where prosecutors may present the evidence gathered from the crash scene, witness statements and store surveillance videos.
Author note: Last updated May 22, 2026.