Revelers crowd Southwest Military Drive during a Spurs honking celebration Saturday night. Some people waved flags, leaned out of vehicles, and rode on top of cars as fans celebrated the team clinching a spot in the NBA Finals.
STAFF/Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson
Joey Rodriguez, 17, lies in a hospital bed at University Hospital after he was critically injured during a Spurs celebration on the South Side.
Courtesy: Yvonne Hudson
Joey Rodriguez, 17, smiles in an undated photo taken before he was critically injured during a Spurs celebration Thursday on the South Side.
Courtesy: Yvonne Hudson
Spurs fans celebrate along Southwest Military Drive on Saturday night after the team’s Game 7 victory over Oklahoma City. Some revelers climbed onto cars and trucks as the honking celebration filled the street.
STAFF/Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson
Spurs fans filled Southwest Military Drive on Saturday night after the team defeated Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. The celebration included honking, vehicle burnouts and people riding on top of cars and trucks.
STAFF/Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson
Fans celebrate the Spurs’ Game 7 victory Saturday night on Southwest Military Drive. Some revelers were seen surfing on top of cars as crowds packed the roadway.
STAFF/Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson
As Spurs fans took to the streets Saturday, cheering and waving flags after another playoff win, a 17-year-old boy remained on life support, his loved ones at his bedside.
Jose “Joey” Rodriguez fell from a vehicle Thursday night on the South Side during a honking celebration after the Spurs’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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He suffered a severe head injury, according to a preliminary police report and his aunt, Yvonne Hudson. She said family members were told Rodriguez was brain-dead and not expected to survive.
A student at Frank Tejeda Academy in the Harlandale school district, Rodriguez was set to graduate next year, Hudson said. He worked at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, and he had a kind heart, a positive attitude, and a willingness to help others, according to the GoFundMe fundraisers the family set up.
The incident happened in the 300 block of West Dickson Avenue, just north of Southwest Military Drive, according to the preliminary police report. San Antonio police had diverted traffic from Southwest Military Drive to side streets to help keep vehicles moving through the crowded celebration area.
Hudson said that when her nephew initially asked his parents for permission to celebrate the Spurs’ win, they said no because of the “nonsense” happening there. But Rodriguez told them that a parent would go with them, and they agreed. Rodriguez instead went only with friends, Hudson said.
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The teen was sitting on the passenger-side window of a vehicle when it hit a curb, Hudson said. He fell and struck the pavement, suffering a severe head injury.
“He left blood all over the street,” Hudson said.
Friends rushed Rodriguez to a nearby clinic, where he had no pulse for eight minutes, Hudson said. He was transferred to a local trauma center because of the severity of his injuries. Hospital staff notified police Friday morning.
The injury happened during a week of Spurs honking celebrations across San Antonio. Fans hit the streets Saturday night to celebrate the Spurs’ victory over the Thunder to advance to the NBA Finals.
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The celebratory honking tradition dates to the Spurs’ 1999 NBA title run and became a familiar sight during the franchise’s championship years, when fans routinely filled Commerce Street downtown and Southwest Military Drive after playoff victories.
During the team’s seven-year playoff drought, the tradition largely faded, but it resurfaced after Victor Wembanyama’s arrival. It returned with renewed enthusiasm during this year’s postseason run.
Honking celebrations on the South Side are different from the such gatherings downtown. On Southwest Military Drive, thousands of fans converge, creating rowdy rolling street parties. After the team’s victory Saturday night in Oklahoma City, revelers did a lot more than honk and cheer for the Spurs.
People in the roadway appeared to put on a show for the hundreds of people who lined the sidewalks. As they paraded up and down Southwest Military Drive, some were on bicycles or on foot, weaving through traffic. A couple of people rode horses.
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They danced in the roadways, hung out of vehicles, climbed onto cars and trucks and set off fireworks. Many people, including young children, sat or stood on top of the roofs of moving cars. Smoke from burned rubber filled the air as drivers of cars and trucks spun their wheels, performing burnouts.
After the game, Spurs player Dylan Harper used part of his postgame news conference to urge fans to celebrate safely.
“I love y’all. Be safe out there in San Antonio,” Harper said. “We are not done yet. I understand y’all are excited but you got to be safe out there. We love y’all. We shout y’all all the time. Y’all travel for us, y’all do everything. But please be safe tonight. We still have a lot more basketball to play, so be safe.”
The Spurs are scheduled to open the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks on Wednesday at the Frost Bank Center.
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San Antonio police have increased patrols around celebration areas during the playoffs to keep traffic moving and prevent dangerous behavior on crowded roadways. The department has repeatedly shared messages on social media reminding fans to celebrate Spurs wins “lawfully and responsibly.”
SAPD said Rodriguez’s catastrophic injuries are tragic and preventable.
“We encourage everyone celebrating to follow traffic laws, stay inside your vehicles, and follow directions from the officers who are there to keep everyone safe,” SAPD said in a statement.
Over the weekend, Rodriguez’s relatives gathered around his bed at University Hospital.
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Hudson said a family member touched his foot, and his knee twitched. The family was excited. It gave them hope.
But doctors told them it was a spinal reflex, Hudson said, not a sign of brain activity.
Hudson said doctors want to disconnect Rodriguez from life support on Sunday.
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His family didn’t want to hear that.