Olivia Flores' parents are looking for justice for her daughter – Post Bulletin a year after the fatal crash

Rochester – Olivia Flores has disappeared for almost a year, but she still takes control of the music that plays in her parents' car.

Carlos and Stephanie Flores, the parents of the 18-year-old, who died last May, say that their daughter is still “in Aux” and occasionally plays songs from Harry Styles' Discography or Show Melodies of Musicals such as “Wicked” or “The Greatest Showman”.

Olivia Flores died of injuries in a car accident on May 18, 2024. She was 20 days from her Abitur.

Carlos Flores said her daughter continued to make her “cosmic part” to remind her friends and family from the fact that she is still with you – through the grieving process to deal with legal matters.

“It is Olivia who makes it easier for us because she would want justice,” said Carlos Flores, “and she would never want this to happen to another person who only went to Red Lobster for her friend's birthday.”

The crash occurred on Saturday, May 18, 2024, around 5:45 p.m. at the intersection of the Memorial Parkway and 12th Street Southwest near Apache Mall. Flores sat on the back seat of her friend's Ford Focus when the car was hit by a Squad car from Minnesota State Patrol, which was driven by the former Trooper Shane Roper.

The 33-year-old Roper is charged with the district court of Olmsted, including a number of homicide second degree, a number of criminal vehicle murder and three cases of criminal vehicle operations, all criminal offenses. He also sees himself with two coarse offenses compared to the criminal vehicle, a teeth number of rough offenses and a number of careless driving of the offense.

“It's not like this is a damn thing,” said Carlos. “It could have been prevented.”

The fatal crash was not the first case in which Roper violated the policy of State Patrol in Minnesota.

The disciplinary records submitted against Roper from 2021 resulted in four previous crashes. One appeared when he did not give in to a driver on a stop sign. Other accidents occurred when he bumped into a state -of -the -art state unit, struck a deer and a median cable barrier bumped into. The Minnesota State Patrol refused to comment on the matter due to the ongoing civil and criminal proceedings.

“We always taught to keep those in the public service on a higher standard,” said Carlos. “Why are you not kept according to a higher standard?”

In December 2024, Stephanie and Carlos filed a federal action against him five months after Roper had been charged with criminal and claimed that the former soldier had violated Flores's constitutional rights and wrongly caused her death. The civil proceedings will be endured or stated until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.

Stephanie and Carlos often speak of campaigning for a law to ensure that law enforcement officers are stopped with similar driving stories as Roper before they are involved in a fatal crash.

Criminal prosecution officers have respect and honor, said Carlos. They taught their children that the officials would protect them when there are problems.

Nevertheless, said Carlos, Roper decided to risk the intersection through the intersection without being activated by his lights or sirens.

“It has to be something in order so that other people don't go through it,” said Stephanie. “We will do everything we can to ensure that no other parent has to go through this.”

Regardless of whether you have to speak in front of the legislator of Minnesota or find new ways to continue telling your daughter's history, the two are ready to agree to what they have shaped “Liv's Law”.

“Liv fought for justice for people,” said Carlos. “She hated injustice. She would be the loudest person if this happened to someone. She would march, she would hold rallies … … she was fearless and violent and loud and she knew how to lead people.”

Justice for her daughter would look like “time behind bars for the person it did”, said Stephanie, but it would also look like protecting other people.

“There is no reason why his career was not allowed to give a permanent end at some point,” she said. “Someone didn't have to die for that.”

When the break for her friend's dance concert ended on May 18, 2024, Carlos and Stephanie Flores drove back to the Owatonna High School auditorium when her phones buzzed.

Carlos saw notifications from LIFE360, an app that recorded the driving behavior and had made notification of emergency contacts possible.

“I tried to call them, call them and call them,” he said.

But her daughter never answered the calls or texts.

Stephanie and Carlos left the concert and drove to Rochester. One of Olivia's friends told them that their daughter was passed out. Olivia died on May 19, 2024 in the Hospital Afold of her injuries.

“We are only in one cycle – it is a new normality. It is a wrong, incredible reality,” said Stephanie. “Nothing still feels really.”

Stephanie said when she reads court documents and news articles, she reads as if it is about someone else.

Carlos said there are days when he works at Kohls, and sees something that his daughter would wear and goes an SMS.

“I'm still forgetting,” he said.

However, they said that the “overwhelming” support of the communities of Owatonna and Rochester gave them a feeling of the consolation to know that they are not alone.

“Thank you for not enough and I have no other words for it,” said Stephanie. “Everything that people gave us in some way, in shape or form, there is not enough words for it.”

Last year Olivia traveled everywhere – from Texas to Japan to Steele County Fair. Carlos and Stephanie Flores encouraged friends and family to travel to her telephones to draw a photo of Olivia and take a photo of her on her travels.

Olivia had planned after completing the Owatonna High School to work for a year and save money for travel. Although she was unable to travel personally, her parents founded a public Facebook group called “Look Where Liv” so that everyone who travels can take a photo with her and post in the group.

Photos of Olivia have traveled to more than 90 locations around the world.

The contribution to the Facebook group is only one way of how the community of Olivia's spirit has kept alive, her parents said.

T-shirts were made with “Liv Strong” days after the crash. Owatonna's baseball team put heart pull pictures on her helmets with her name. Her cheerleading uniform was retired. Some got tattoos in their memory.

“The whole city wrapped us in this bladder,” said Carlos. “The community and the support, it was overwhelming in the best possible way.”

Knowing how Olivia had an impact on the community and saw how loved she was, her parents said, reminding them to be present and “how Liv live”.