When: 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
(Live shot availability starting at 4 a.m. in English and Spanish)
Where: AAA Texas Regional Headquarters
1225 Freeport Pkwy
Coppell, TX 75019
Who: AAA Texas Daniel Armbruster, Senior Public Affairs Specialist
Dee Estelle mother of two children killed in crash
Why: April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and AAA Texas and a mother of a young man and woman killed by a distracted driver will remind the public about the deadly consequences of inattention behind the wheel. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), in 2022 there were 484 people killed in traffic crashes involving a distracted driver, an 11% increase from the prior year. That same year an estimated 2,825 people were seriously injured in distracted driving crashes on Texas roadways. On December 21, 2015, Dee Estelle, her husband and three adult children went to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth to see Christmas lights. On their way home the family was laughing and singing Christmas songs when their vehicle slowed down for traffic but a driver behind them did not. A texting driver slammed into them going about 70 miles per hour. The crash killed Dee’s 23-year-old son Alex Trejo and 19-year-old daughter Gabbie Estelle.
Visuals: Crashed car from distracted driving
Chair display representing 10 lives lost each day to distracted driving
Photos of Alex Trejo and Gabbie Estelle
B-roll of distracted drivers
B-roll of texting while driving crashes
Contact: AAA Texas’ Daniel Armbruster, (512) 564-3141