Mother of teen killed by truck wants answers

Published: Aug. 8, 2012 at 9:32 PM CDT|Updated: Aug. 22, 2012 at 9:36 PM CDT
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The mother of a 15-year-old boy who was hit and killed while riding his bicycle wants answers. 
Martin Gutierrez, Jr., was riding his bike around 9 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 31 west near Greenbriar Rd., just outside of Tyler. 
Authorities say Gutierrez was on the way home when he was hit by a sanitation truck. 
"I really need closure and I really need understanding and I really want to know what happened to my son," said Patricia Gutierrez. 

SMITH COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - Patricia Gutierrez just lost her 15-year-old son, Martin. Authorities say while on his bike, he darted in front of a sanitation truck. His mother is having a difficult time accepting that answer.

"I just don't want my son darted out in front of a truck and I'm at the scene of the tragic accident and it doesn't make no sense," she said. "He's in the middle."

DPS says they're investigating the crash. Martin lived in San Antonio with his mother. He was visiting his father when he decided to take a bike ride.

"Sweetest boy in the world you know. Has a very big heart," she said. "You know he's always there for everybody with  a smile on his face. I just, I want to know please. I need answers. That's just all I want."

Martin's mother wants to talk to witnesses and the driver of that sanitation truck. She wants to know everything about her sound's death.

"I was five months pregnant when I had him and he fought from bleeding in the brain to lungs collapsing to you name it, he overcame all of that, and for him to be taken away from me in a matter of seconds doesn't make sense," she said. "I just really need to know, please."

It's a mother's last wish to know exactly what happened to her only son.

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