BY CASSANDRA LEAL
On February 27, 2013 16 year old Joshua Ortega, was riding his bike home on FM 78. Whether or not he saw the vehicle coming, nobody can say. What is known is that Ortega was struck and killed on the side of the road, bringing heartbreak to his family and friends.
Ortega's family and friends don’t know the name of the woman whose vehicle veered off the road. They do know that she was never charged. And they do know, without a doubt, that two years later there are still heartache and unhealed wounds.
“He was a ball of energy,’’ Veronica Trevino, one of Ortega’s best friends, said. “Once he entered the room it lit up; he was always laughing, joking around, and making my day. I couldn’t stay mad at him, it was impossible. I mean, nobody could.”
Now, in 2015, the end of the year – when Ortega would have been graduating - rolled around. Thinking she was going to be able to walk the stage for her son to be recognized, Ortega's mother Lorraine Garza got her hopes up. But then, Garza had to watch them slowly fall apart. After contacting Judson ISD, she received a phone call. “I’m sorry, but Joshua will not be able to graduate due to the fact that he wasn’t a senior at the time of his passing.”
“I miss my son so much!” Garza said. “I miss his high spirits, laugh, his loyalty to his family and friends, his love, his hugs, those goodnight kisses he would always give me…also the four little words he would ask me when I got home from work: ‘How was your day Ma?,’ or before I left to work, ‘Be careful ma!’ I miss every single thing about that boy!”
In an interview with KENS 5, Garza shared her feelings about what this graduation meant to her. "I know it's not going to bring him back," Garza said. "Nothing's going to bring him back. He would have done it. He had that opportunity taken from him. He would still be here if he could."
Now, others have joined Ortega's mother in her attempts to see her son recognized at graduation. Recently, Savannah Espitia started a change.org petition asking that Garza be allowed to walk the stage at graduation in her son’s place. As of press time, the petition had earned 300 signatures out of the 500 needed.
"Joshua looked forward to the day that he would cross the stage along with this Class of 2015," reads the letter accompanying the petition. "He couldn't wait to hear our family alongside him cheering him on. That was all taken away on February 27, 2013...We as a family feel that it is only right for Joshua's name to be heard along with his mother crossing the stage for him with his classmates of 2015."
According to the KENS 5 article, Judson ISD has stated that because Joshua had not met the requirements as a sophomore,
he cannot graduate -- he would have had to "be a senior and academically on track."
"As tragic as this student's situation was, he did not reach that point and his time here with Judson ISD. That does not mean we do not empathize with the family, it's certainly a tragic situation," JISD communications director Steve Linscomb said in in the interview with KENS.
While Garza undoubtedly appreciates the empathy of the district, she is still seeking more.
“I lost my son to a careless driver,” Garza said. “He didn’t want to die, he didn’t ask for this to happen to him. He just wanted to graduate. Please, please let him graduate. That’s all I ask for, for his last will to come true.”
According t o KENS, "Garza said even if her son does not receive his posthumous diploma, she would like her son's name to be announced at the graduation. The Judson ISD spokesman said the school is willing to work with Garza to find a way to acknowledge Joshua in some way."
On February 27, 2013 16 year old Joshua Ortega, was riding his bike home on FM 78. Whether or not he saw the vehicle coming, nobody can say. What is known is that Ortega was struck and killed on the side of the road, bringing heartbreak to his family and friends.
Ortega's family and friends don’t know the name of the woman whose vehicle veered off the road. They do know that she was never charged. And they do know, without a doubt, that two years later there are still heartache and unhealed wounds.
“He was a ball of energy,’’ Veronica Trevino, one of Ortega’s best friends, said. “Once he entered the room it lit up; he was always laughing, joking around, and making my day. I couldn’t stay mad at him, it was impossible. I mean, nobody could.”
Now, in 2015, the end of the year – when Ortega would have been graduating - rolled around. Thinking she was going to be able to walk the stage for her son to be recognized, Ortega's mother Lorraine Garza got her hopes up. But then, Garza had to watch them slowly fall apart. After contacting Judson ISD, she received a phone call. “I’m sorry, but Joshua will not be able to graduate due to the fact that he wasn’t a senior at the time of his passing.”
“I miss my son so much!” Garza said. “I miss his high spirits, laugh, his loyalty to his family and friends, his love, his hugs, those goodnight kisses he would always give me…also the four little words he would ask me when I got home from work: ‘How was your day Ma?,’ or before I left to work, ‘Be careful ma!’ I miss every single thing about that boy!”
In an interview with KENS 5, Garza shared her feelings about what this graduation meant to her. "I know it's not going to bring him back," Garza said. "Nothing's going to bring him back. He would have done it. He had that opportunity taken from him. He would still be here if he could."
Now, others have joined Ortega's mother in her attempts to see her son recognized at graduation. Recently, Savannah Espitia started a change.org petition asking that Garza be allowed to walk the stage at graduation in her son’s place. As of press time, the petition had earned 300 signatures out of the 500 needed.
"Joshua looked forward to the day that he would cross the stage along with this Class of 2015," reads the letter accompanying the petition. "He couldn't wait to hear our family alongside him cheering him on. That was all taken away on February 27, 2013...We as a family feel that it is only right for Joshua's name to be heard along with his mother crossing the stage for him with his classmates of 2015."
According to the KENS 5 article, Judson ISD has stated that because Joshua had not met the requirements as a sophomore,
he cannot graduate -- he would have had to "be a senior and academically on track."
"As tragic as this student's situation was, he did not reach that point and his time here with Judson ISD. That does not mean we do not empathize with the family, it's certainly a tragic situation," JISD communications director Steve Linscomb said in in the interview with KENS.
While Garza undoubtedly appreciates the empathy of the district, she is still seeking more.
“I lost my son to a careless driver,” Garza said. “He didn’t want to die, he didn’t ask for this to happen to him. He just wanted to graduate. Please, please let him graduate. That’s all I ask for, for his last will to come true.”
According t o KENS, "Garza said even if her son does not receive his posthumous diploma, she would like her son's name to be announced at the graduation. The Judson ISD spokesman said the school is willing to work with Garza to find a way to acknowledge Joshua in some way."