‘He was my angel': Mom grieves 9-year-old son killed crossing Dallas street

Deyaneira Ledesma said she was with her twins and another student at Felix Botello Elementary when they were hit by a truck crossing Marsalis Avenue.

The mother of a 9-year-old boy killed trying to cross Marsalis Avenue after school on Thursday said she never saw the truck that struck her son, two other children, and herself.

Deyaneira Ledesma told NBC-5 she looked both ways before stepping out into the roadway, but admitted she and the three children were not in a crosswalk.

“Me fije hacia los lados y no venia ningun carro,” Ledesma told us in Spanish.

Ledesma said she was with her son, Jose Ledesma, and his twin sister Keyla Ledesma, both 9, and another student walking back to their home at an apartment complex across the street from Felix Botello Elementary, where all three children attended, according to Dallas ISD

According to Dallas police, a silver pick-up truck struck all four in the 200 block of Marsalis Avenue.

Jose Ledesma was killed.

His twin sister suffered a broken leg and hip, according to their mother.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said a third patient, an 11-year-old girl, was taken to the hospital as well with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Dallas police said Friday the crash is still part of an ongoing investigation, but that the incident is being looked at as a traffic fatality right now, with no arrests expected.

The driver stopped after the accident.

On Friday, staff from the campus were posted up on the sidewalk along Marsalis Avenue to ensure no other student attempted to cross the street at a location other than a marked crosswalk with a crossing guard present.

Dallas ISD had early dismissal to mark the last day of the school year.

Parent Cynthia Rocha, picking up her first and third grade students, told NBC-5, the Botello Elementary school community was grieving as summer break started.

“We are a very close-knit community. the school, the parents, the students,” Rocha said. “We’re all connected, we all know each other.”

While Dallas police said speed did not appear to be a factor in the crash, Rocha said the school’s proximity to vehicles entering and exiting Interstate 35-E means fast-moving vehicles near the school are not uncommon.

“We don’t have any speed bumps; we have one crossing guard, but we do need some change,” Rocha said.

Rocha said parents were working to support the Ledesma family and the family of the 11-year-old student injured by providing meals and hosting a vigil, set for Friday at 7 p.m.

Ledesma said Jose, who had just turned nine in April, loved soccer star Lionel Messi, dancing, and making his mom smile.

“Mi niño era mi angelito, mi mas grande amor, era mi todo,” Ledesma said about the boy she called her angel, her greatest love, and her everything.