A teen in Temple, Texas returned home following a tragic car accident that killed his mother and family friend.
Fabian Vargas, a senior at Temple High School, was critically injured in the car crash and spent two months in the hospital and rehabilitation. The accident happened at the intersection of S. 31st Street and Sleepy Hollow Lane in Temple. A red pickup truck struck the grey car that Vargas, his mother, Hortencia Piedra, and their family friend, Susan Farley, were traveling in. Farley, 53, died at the scene while, Piedra, 51, died at the hospital. The people in the pickup truck were not injured.
Vargas was taken to Scott & White Hospital where he was in a coma for 11 days. He did not learn about his mother's death until weeks later. He spent more than five weeks in an Austin rehabilitation facility and had to re-learn basic things like chewing, talking, and walking. He has been supported by other family members, including his older sister Gracie Jimenez.
"He's just been strong all the way, all the way...he got it in his head that he wasn't going to be in the rehab much longer, and he wasn't," said Jimenez.
Vargas says that returning home is not the same without his mother. He said there are some gaps in his memory, but he does know that his mom was always there for him. He will graduate from Temple High School this spring and will start his freshman year of college in the fall at the University of Texas at Austin, where he will be a part of the Longhorn Marching Band.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the victims of this awful Texas car crash.