North Texas mom whose son was nearly killed in crash featured in new TxDOT ads
An Irving mother whose son was hit by a car near his elementary school in 2011 is speaking out about the dangers of distracted driving in a new Texas Department of Transportation ad campaign.
Maria Espinosa was walking her son Misael Rico, then 6 years old, to school in January 2011 when a distracted driver jumped a curb and pinned the boy beneath the vehicle, the family said.
A witness told police that the driver had been on the phone at the time of the crash, WFAA-TV reported.
“You never think this is going to happen when you’re in your son’s school,” Espinosa said in a video interview for the TxDOT campaign. “You never think it’s going to happen because you are in a safe place.”
Misael spent over three months in a coma and underwent physical therapy to learn how to walk, eat and talk again, Espinosa said.
Now, 20-year-old Misael is studying to become a physical therapist.
His story is part of the Department of Transportation’s new “Talk. Text. Crash.” ad campaign, aimed at raising awareness about distracted driving crashes in Texas, according to a news release.
Distracted driving contributed to 91,000 crashes in Texas in 2024 alone, leading to more than 370 deaths, TxDOT officials said.
“How important is that call, that text?” Espinosa said. “More than a life? It’s not.”
