A North Texas mother who lost two of her children in a distracted driving crash said she is praying that Gov. Greg Abbott will sign a bill banning texting and driving across the state.
Dee Davila-Estelle was heading home with her husband and three children on December 21, 2015 when a driver slammed into their car on Interstate 35W near Fort Worth.
The family was returning from the Texas Motor Speedway after enjoying their yearly tradition of seeing Christmas lights.
Two of Davila-Estelle’s children, 19-year-old Gabbi and 23-year-old Alex, were killed in the crash. She and her husband suffered serious injuries. Their youngest son was unhurt.
Their family was forever changed.
“The hardest thing a mother has to look at is her children in a coffin,” Davila-Estelle said. “I think I relive that day a lot. I relive it a lot. When I think about my children, that’s the last thing I think of.”
Outside their North Richland Hills home sit two crosses, side by side. Inside the home are shrines to the lost children, filled with photos and trinkets of Gabbi and Alex.
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Davila-Estelle said she retells the story often, even though it hurts, because she hopes to get the message across – distracted driving is deadly.
She said she is hopeful Abbott will sign HB 62, which will result in a statewide ban of texting and driving.
“I would like to think if this law was signed in 2015, maybe both my children would still be here. Maybe the driver would’ve thought twice about looking at a text while driving down the freeway,” she said.
The driver, Jacob Valentine of Austin, was charged with vehicular manslaughter in January 2017, more than a year after the deadly crash.
Police said he had glanced down to check a text.
“This is not the way our story is supposed to end. It’s not the way it’s supposed to end. So put down those phones, it’s not that important. There’s nothing more important than a life. I just want everyone to know there’s nothing more important than a life,” Davila-Estelle said.
Bill sponsor Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has been pushing for texting while driving ban for 10 years. Texas lawmakers approved a ban in 2011 but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Rick Perry, who called it a "government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults."
The measure approved Friday would create a statewide ban that pre-empts local ordinances regarding texting only. It would prohibit the use of hand-held phones to "read write or send an electronic message" while driving, assessing a fine of up to $99 for first-time offenders and $200 for repeat offenses.
Texas is just one of four states nationwide that does not have a statewide ban.
