What happened to TikTok influencer Gabe Salazar?

Gabe Salazar, a TikTok influencer, died in 2021 in an early morning car crash in Zavala County, Texas, about 100 miles outside San Antonio, where Salazar lived. Salazar had over 2 million TikTok followers and about a million on Instagram when the accident happened.

In 2021, TikTok had only recently become dominant in social media, and Salazar rose to fame with lip-sync posts and skits under the user name Gabenotbabe. At around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, Salazer was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro with three other men in the vehicle: Luis Jimenez-Mora, 41, Jose Molina-Lara, 23, and Sergio Espinoza-Flores, 36. News4SanAntonio says they were undocumented immigrants from Mexico, and all three men died in the wreck.

There was an active pursuit

A local police officer tried to pull Gabe Salazar’s vehicle over before the accident, but Salazar fled. The officer then radioed in there was an active pursuit. An assisting officer tried a tire deflection device to stop Salazar but was unsuccessful. Salazar, who was 19, eventually lost control of the Camaro. The vehicle then hit some trees, rolled, and caught fire. All four men were declared dead at the scene.

Why Salazar fled is unclear, possibly because there were undocumented immigrants in the car. Authorities never said what initiated the traffic stop. Salazar’s final Instagram post from the day before the accident happened shows him beside the vehicle in which he died.

“I don’t know what’s real and not real anymore but unfortunately Gabe passed away on a car crash September 26. We couldn’t believe it the moment we found out. 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,” Chris Vazquez, another TikTok influencer, who often worked with Salazar wrote in a GoFundMe campaign for Salazar’s funeral expenses.

Meanwhile, Salazar’s sister, Danna Salazar, wrote on Instagram (translated from Spanish), “I’d give anything to have you here with us, we need you so much. I’ll no longer be able to see your beautiful smile. I love you little brother. I hope to see you soon.”