Holiday Compounds Family’s Heartbreak at Losing a Member

It’s a generous Christmas present: an air hockey game wrapped with a bright red ribbon. The real gift, however, is a small card taped on top, “To: Aurelio; From: Mommy.”

Six-year-old Aurelio Carrillo will always know that his mother took the time to make this Christmas magical.

She was killed this month in San Bernardino when a suspected drunk driver hit her as she unloaded presents for her children and relatives. Susanna Rey, a customer service clerk at Wal-Mart, was 22, and along with Aurelio left behind a 2-year-old daughter, Jenna.

Rey’s parents have taken in the children, and they’ve spent the days since her death bracing for the emotions of Christmas Day. They wonder how they can keep the morning joyful when they give the boy his final gift from his mother.

“The thought of seeing him open that present and not be able to share a smile with his mommy, or to say thank you, is too much for me to deal with,” said Susanna’s mother, Laurie Rey.

Staring down at a dozen red, green and blue wrapped presents left for Aurelio and Jenna by their mother, Laurie Rey said the anguish of losing her daughter has deepened because Susanna, more than anyone in the family, loved Christmastime.

Susanna was a voracious shopper, Laurie Rey said, and would always sing “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman” around the home as she helped her mother cook tamales and bake cookies. On Christmas Day, she would kneel by the tree to hand her children, siblings and parents their gifts.

A San Bernardino High School graduate, Susanna aspired to become a nurse. But with two children to support, she took a job at a San Bernardino Wal-Mart, a job that came naturally, her mother said, “because all she ever did was smile.”

Susanna’s shift ended early on the evening of Dec. 6, when she dropped by her parents’ home to wrap Christmas presents with her younger sister, Savannah.

Aurelio had walked with his mother outside the home in the seconds before the crash. At his mother’s direction, he stopped on his grandparents’ porch as she stepped to her car to grab some gifts and wrapping paper.

Susanna Rey never saw the truck coming down the dark, narrow street. “Mom!” Aurelio cried as he watched the truck careen into his mother.

Susanna was thrown upward, her car was pushed forward, and her body was dragged about 50 feet by the truck. Presents, including a bag of clothing and a doll for a niece, along with some “Shrek” gift wrapping, were scattered in the street.

John Cuellar, the truck’s driver, had alcohol on his breath, law enforcement authorities said.

He was arrested at the scene and later charged with second-degree murder. Cuellar’s driver’s license had been revoked at the time, and he was convicted of DUI in 1998 and 2002, San Bernardino police said. He faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted.

Laurie Rey said she heard her daughter’s “dying breath” and told Susanna, “Mom’s with you.” Devastated by the sight of her daughter on the pavement, Laurie Rey then raced to Cuellar’s door and started pummeling him.

The random tragedy has touched a nerve in Rey’s community, where business owners and residents have donated money and a bicycle for Aurelio and provided emotional support for the family.

At her memorial last week, Susanna Rey was buried in a new Christmas dress. It was the only time Aurelio has cried about his mother’s death, Laurie Rey says.

Since the tragedy, Aurelio has clung to his grandmother, hugging her when she cries and urging her to avoid staying in the frontyard -- near where his mother was killed -- for too long.

Aurelio talks little about his mother. His grandmother doesn’t press him because mentioning her name elicits a sad look on the boy’s face. Each evening and morning, he tells a framed photograph of his mother, “Good night” and “Good morning, Mommy.”

“I don’t even want to do Christmas -- finish my shopping, make tamales, nothing,” Laurie Rey said Monday. “It sure is empty without her.”

She said she feels compelled to “do Christmas” only because of Susanna’s enthusiasm for holiday traditions.

So she purchased tamale sauce Tuesday and began cooking Wednesday. The Christmas tree is surrounded by wrapped presents. The family room looks the same as always, with Christmas decorations tied to red ribbon hanging from the ceiling. “I just know Susie would be saying, ‘Life goes on, Mom.’ She would want the kids to have the nice things she bought them,” Laurie Rey said.

The mention of Christmas morning brings a smile to Aurelio’s face, as he reels off a list of presents he wants from Santa: a video game system, computer games, a movie. He has no idea that his mother went beyond those requests, buying him the same air hockey table as the one he runs to every time he’s treated to a trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

“I know nothing will ever bring my Susie back,” Laurie Rey said. “But I know when the kids open their presents, in their expressions, I’ll be able to see Susie.”