A 14-year-old boy from Rio Grande City who wasn’t wearing his seat belt, died after being ejected from a vehicle Sunday morning, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Fermin Estudillo, of Rio Grande City, was the passenger of the car driven by Hugo Ernesto Rivera, 17, also of Rio Grande City, who lost control of his vehicle and led to it rolling over, officials said.
DPS said the crash occurred around 8:53 a.m. on FM 755, north of Orchard in Rio Grande City.
Based on the department’s preliminary investigation, a 2006 Chrysler 300, driven by Rivera, was traveling northbound on FM 755 when Rivera lost control of the vehicle and rolled over.
Estudillo was not wearing his seat belt, according to DPS, and was ejected. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene, the release stated.
Rivera fled the scene, but was apprehended shortly after.
Rivera was arrested and charged with murder, DWI with a minor and failure to stop and render aid, the release stated.
DPS continues to investigate the fatal crash.
The department urged for drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts, citing a statistic that the number of people who have died while not wearing a seat belt increased by 14% from 2020 to 2021.
They further state that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of dying by 45% for people in the front seat of vehicles. For those in pickups, they continued, seat belts reduce the risk by 60%.
Texas law requires for everyone in vehicles to wear their seat belts or you’ll face fines up to $200. Children 8 years old or younger must be in a child seat or booster seat, unless they’re taller than 4 feet, 9 inches. If they are not properly restrained, the driver faces fines up to $250.
“Your seat belt is designed to keep you from being thrown into the dashboard or windshield or even onto the road,” the release stated. “You may think your airbag is going to protect you, but it’s designed to work with seat belts, not to replace them.”
