The Commission drinks alcoholic of Texas (USA), with which Saburido collaborated for years to fight e l consumption of alcohol among drivers, confirmed his death.
“She was wonderful, had a great sense of humor, an amazing woman who became an inspiration for me,” Terry Pence, director of the Division of traffic safety of Texas, told BBC News.
Saburido was only 20 years old when an accident changed her life.
Only child, lived with his father in Caracas after the divorce of his parents. He loved to go to the beach, dancing and going out with her friends.
I wanted to help his father to lead his air conditioning factory after completing his studies of mechanical engineering at the University.
But first I wanted to learn to speak English well.
This is how in 1999 he decided to take advantage of summer vacation to spend a few months in the United States.
A tragic night of partying
It was four o’clock in the morning and Saburido came back from a party in a friend’s car.
Natalia Bennett was driving the car, she was in the passenger seat and other two friends sat in the back seat.
Reggie Stephey, 18-year-old, who was also returning home driving on the same road.
The young man had drunk and just before coming home crossed the stripe that separated the two way and collided head-on with the car which was Jacqui.
Bennett and another of the passengers died immediately.
The car caught fire, and Saburido suffered third-degree burns on more than 60% of his body.
Reggie was convicted of two charges of murder by poisoning and sentenced to seven years in prison in a State Penitentiary.
It was released in 2008, but condemnation of Saburido would last throughout life.
His message to the world
The only thing reminding the young Venezuelan’s accident is the buzz of the helicopter that took her to the hospital.
Third-degree burns damaged her eyes and left her blind. He was also without ears, lips, nose and eyelids, and lost the use of his hands.
Jacqui had to be subjected to about 120 surgeries.
“After his horrible accident, as part of the things that began to their recovery process, said he wanted to speak out against the consumption of alcohol while driving. I didn’t that happen the same to anyone more”, said in a BBC World Terry Pence, who worked personally with Saburido.
“She wanted to be able to tell others the horrors she experienced. Why he was constantly reminding others that they might not bring if they drank”, he recalls.
Saburido recorded in 2002 an advertisement of 30-second TV that soon became known in all United States and other countries of the world.
“It was a huge response to the message from Jacqui. She received thousands of letters from people all over the world thanking him for his efforts and his courage to speak out against driving drunk”, recalls Pence.
A new life
After his accident, he gave dozens of interviews around the world and she was invited to speak at the program of television Oprah Winfrey twice.
“Even if you have to be opposite to a camera no ears, no nose, no eyebrows and no hair, would it thousand times just to help a single person to take the right decision”, said in an interview.
A few years ago Jacqui decided to move to Guatemala.
One of his cousins, José Saburido, told the Austin Statesman portal who died on April 20 as a result of cancer.
According to Saburido, his last wish was to be buried in Venezuela, near the tomb of his mother, who also died of cancer in 2006.
“It was a great pleasure having worked with her. Whenever he had to present it I said ‘She is Jacqui, and is one of my heroes’ “broke my heart when I heard that he had died”, says Terry Pence moved.
