Laura Hensley - Bryan-College Station Eagle

Alva Lucero Agundiz grew up in a rough Bryan neighborhood known to both the community and police as being home to gang activity and crime.

At 24, the single mother of a 1-year-old was on her way to getting out of what family members described as a bad situation: She was attending college with dreams of one day becoming a nurse and living in San Antonio.

Her sister said all that ended Tuesday night when the woman - curious about gunfire that erupted on her street - went outside onto her front lawn and was shot in the head.

Authorities would report later that a gunfight between two rival gangs took place, leaving 30 shell casings littering the ground and eventually taking Alva Algundiz's life.

Bryan police Thursday continued to investigate the shooting, which also injured a 20-year-old man. Officials said no suspects had been identified, but detectives continued to interview dozens of witnesses.

Police said they could not comment on Alva Agundiz's role in the incident because they still were investigating, but family members said she was an innocent bystander.

After the shooting in the 1200 block of Beck Street, friends and family members loaded Agundiz into a car and tried to rush her to St. Joseph Regional Health Center. Before they made it to the emergency room, the frantic driver hit a curb on West 29th Street and wrecked the car, police and family said. An officer who responded to the accident found Alva Agundiz bleeding as she lay in the back seat, so he made the decision to take her the remaining half-mile to the hospital.

It's a rare occurrence for officers to transport victims, officials said, but exceptions are made in extreme emergencies, according to Assistant police Chief Pete Scheets, who said it would have wasted time to call and wait for an ambulance to arrive.

At the hospital, little could be done, officials said.

Alva Agundiz was pronounced dead Wednesday evening but remained on life support Thursday in order for her organs to be harvested and donated for transplant.

Officials with the Southwest Transplant Alliance said Alma Agundiz's heart was given to a 59-year-old man, both lungs went to a 48-year-old woman, and her liver and one kidney were placed in a 44-year-old woman.

Donating her organs was a decision the young woman had made and discussed with her family long before the shooting, her older sister Alma Agundiz said.

"She said whatever happens that she wanted to donate her organs. She loved helping people," Alma Agundiz said. "When we found out it was a possibility, we were very glad. We knew it was something she would have wanted. It's comforting to know that she's living on in somebody else."

A 2000 graduate of Bryan High School, Alva Agundiz juggled classwork at Blinn College and parenting with a job as a front desk attendant at Park Cleaners

"She loved her life," Alma Agundiz said. "She was looking forward to the future."

Her drive to succeed was fueled by her young daughter, Arianna Mia Agundiz, who now likely will live with her grandmother.

"Mia was her life," Alma Agundiz said about her younger sister. "After she had Mia, she decided she wanted to be a little more grown up. Mia was her princess."

Alma Agundiz said her sister, one of 10 children, will be remembered most for her loving and caring personality.

"She was a special person," Alma Agundiz said. "She would just draw you in.

She had lots of friends. We loved her so much, and we're going to miss her."