19-year-old TikTok star Gabriel Salazar, who goes by @gabenotbabe, has died in a car crash following a police chase on Sunday (Sept. 26).
As People Magazine reported, the San Antonio, Texas teen was involved in a car chase with a Crystal City police officer during the early hours of Sunday. The officer reported they tried to engage in a traffic stop, and later pursued the white Camaro that Salazar was riding in alongside 3 other individuals. The last Instagram post that Salazar shared, on Saturday, showed him posing next to the same car that was in the crash. Authorities involved in the chase deployed an unsuccessful tire-deflation device, and the car later went off the road and hit multiple trees.
It is believed that Salazar was driving the Camaro at the time of the crash, approximately 1:20 a.m. local time on the Sunday. He and the three other people in the car—41-year-old Jose Luis Jimenez-Mora, 23-year-old Jose Molina-Lara, and 36-year-old Sergio Espinoza-Flores—were reported dead at the scene.
During the pursuit, the deputy chasing Salazar said that the car had rolled over numerous times and had caught on fire. In a Facebook post from the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office, the car in question was seen engulfed in flames next to a tree.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Salazar had amassed a large following on TikTok for his content.
His family has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral expenses. "I don’t know what’s real and not real anymore but unfortunately gabe past away on a car crash September 26 we couldn’t believe it the moment we found out," wrote GoFundMe organizer Chris Vasquez. "Don't really want to get into details because it’s so hard for us to even talk about the pain he went through. Never expected this happen but now you’re watching over us."
The campaign has already raised more than its $25,000 goal.
Multiple TikTok creatives paid their respect to Salazar following his death. “Words cannot explain how I feel right now,” wrote his friend and collaborator Ricky Flores. “Man I remember we were jus on the phone like yesterday bro. … R.I.P. my brother Gabe.”
