Keller teen’s recovery continues after being hit while jogging two years ago
.jpeg "Nina taking part in The Run with Turkeys Trot in 2025. The Keller teen hit by a car as she was jogging near Bear Creek Park on April 4, 2024.")
A Keller teenager is still recovering from devastating injuries she suffered two years ago when she was hit by a pickup while jogging.
Nina Alvarez was a 14-year-old student at Indian Springs Middle School at the time of the accident. She was training for the Keller High School cross-country team when she was hit on a crosswalk near Bear Creek Park on April 4, 2024.
According to Betty Alvarez, Nina’s mother, the teen athlete suffered a severe brain injury and multiple fractures to her pelvis, hips and both femurs.
“With God all things are possible,” Alvarez said. “Because we didn’t know what was going to happen to Nina, she was in a really critical condition, and the way you see her now, you cannot believe the way she was.”
‘As a teenager it’s really hard’
The driver of the pickup that hit Nina stayed on the scene. Keller police said Michael Mango of Ferris was speeding and arrested him on suspicion of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury.
In April 2025, Mango pleaded guilty to aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation, meaning he accepted responsibility without a conviction of the crime being on his record.
Over the course of almost two years, Nina has undergone multiple surgeries, including knee replacement
Alvarez said her daughter feels lost and unlike her old self after the accident.
“She used to be a runner, and now she doesn’t know who she is,” Alvarez said. “And as a teenager it’s really hard, because she wants to do normal things a teenager does, and she is not able to do that, and it’s really hard because now she feels isolated.”
Now 17, Nina has returned to school but is worried about her future, her mother said.
Nina was not the only member of the family to feel the impact of the accident. According to Alvarez, Nina’s brother, whose dream was to become a swimmer is also feeling the strain of the family’s hardships.
Alvarez said that her son took to social media to create awareness about Nina’s accident and helped them figure out how to set up a GoFundMe to help with the medical bills. She said it has been hard on him as a senior planning on going to college with the family’s focus on Nina’s recovery.
‘We just trust in the Lord’
At the time of the accident, Nina’s father was a truck driver and Betty Alvarez was an inventory specialist at Amazon.
Alvarez said the accident changed their whole life. Nina needs 24-hour care due to having memory issues. Nina is also back in a wheelchair, losing the independence she had previously gained from physical therapy.
“You need to be around her all the time, she forgets things, like even the small things,” Alvarez said. “It is really hard as a mom to leave her without supervision. So that’s why I decided to work from home.”
The family now runs two businesses, a hotshot trucking company — delivering loads that are small enough to fit on a box truck, a pickup truck or a trailer — and Nina’s Street Food, a catering business that uses all of its proceeds to fund Nina’s medical bills and therapy expenses. Alvarez helps run the businesses from home, as her husband is on the road caring for Nina and taking her to appointments.
On Saturdays, the family is at the Keller Farmers Market selling Nina’s Street Food. Often, Nina makes muffins and works at the stand, and her family pays her to work the stand so she can get out of the house, feel connected to people and “feel productive,” her mother said.
“As we continue walking this journey of self-employment and trusting God to guide our steps, we’ve also come to understand the great challenge that comes with it,” Alvarez wrote in a social media post in February. “Especially when it comes to medical insurance and financial stability. At the same time, being self-employed has given us something invaluable: the ability to care for Nina and be present for her every single day. She needs someone with her 24/7, and this path, though difficult, has allowed us to stay close, attentive, and fully involved in her care.”
Alvarez told the Star-Telegram the family is still facing a lot of financial hardship, saying they just want to find work opportunities, keep paying their bills and make sure they can continue to pay for Nina’s health insurance so she continues to receive the care she needs.
“We just trust in the Lord,” Alvarez said. “We know he has big plans for her and for the whole family.”
‘A light everywhere she goes’
Mayor Ross McMullin announced on June 11 that the City of Keller, in partnership with the Keller Rotary Club, will allow Keller Lights Independence Day attendees to make a tax-deductible donation to the rotary club, which will give 100% of the proceeds to support Nina. Folks at the event can scan a QR code to make the donation.
“As you are likely already aware, Nina was involved in a tragic accident but has been working on her very own comeback story,” McMullin wrote in a statement. “And we couldn’t be more excited about an opportunity to support Nina in her efforts.”
Alvarez said the mayor, the rotary club and area residents have been looking for different ways to help, including a fundraiser that was recently held for Nina.
Nina is a blessing in her family’s life, Betty Alvarez said.
“She [Nina] is a light everywhere she goes,” Alvarez tearfully said. “Because it doesn’t matter if she is in pain, you always want to see a big smile on her face. For us that’s the thing that keeps us going.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 1:32 PM.