Police identify boy killed in Donna crash

DONNA - Police have identified the student who died Friday in connection with a fiery crash that sent a sign hurtling into a school bus and left two other people dead.

Humberto Acabal, 11, of Alamo, died Friday evening at McAllen Medical Center from injuries sustained in the incident. Also killed were Annabelle Rios Hernandez, 35, of Alamo, and her son Joshua Nathaniel Hernandez, 3.

Hernandez, of Alamo, was eastbound on the frontage road about 4:30 p.m. when she lost control of her truck near the intersection with Valley View Road and fishtailed, police said. The truck rolled and struck a sign, sending it flying into the window of a Donna school district bus.

The sign shattered the bus window and struck Acabal in the back of the head, police said. Rescue workers rushed Acabal and several other injured students to McAllen Medical Center. He died shortly after from his injuries.

Hernandez's truck continued to roll after colliding with the sign and struck a second, larger sign. The truck burst into flames, killing her and her young son Joshua, Suarez said.

The school bus took the uninjured students to nearby Sauceda Middle School, 520 N. Valley View Road, Donna, where their parents or guardians picked them up.

Suarez was unsure Saturday if any other children suffered serious injuries but said no other students had died.

Acabal lived in Alamo all his life and attended D.M. Sauceda Middle School in Donna, according to his obituary.

Friday marked the beginning of Spring Break for the school district, and Acabal and the other students on the bus were just starting their vacation.

Attempts to reach school district officials following the incident have been unsuccessful. It remains unclear what services and resources the school district may be making available to families of students to help them cope in the aftermath.

Acabal was one week shy of his birthday, Donna police Detective Rick Suarez said. The youngster would have turned 12 Friday.

Visitation for Acabal will be from 3 to 9 p.m. todayat Memorial Funeral Home, 311 E. Expressway 83, San Juan, with a 7 p.m. rosary. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Resurrection Catholic Church 834 Citrus Ave., Alamo.
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Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.

Helping children cope

Following a disaster, people may develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, which is psychological damage that can result from experiencing, witnessing or participating in an overwhelmingly frightening event.

Children with this disorder have repeated episodes in which they re-experience the traumatic event. They may even relive the trauma through repetitive play.

In young children, upsetting dreams of the traumatic event may change into nightmares of monsters, of rescuing others, or of threats to self or others. PTSD rarely appears during the trauma itself. Though its symptoms can occur soon after the event, the disorder often surfaces several months or even years later.

Parents should be alert to these changes in a child's behavior:

* Refusal to return to school and "clinging" behavior, including shadowing the mother or father around the house.

* Persistent fears related to the catastrophe, such as fears about being permanently separated from parents.

* Sleep disturbances such as nightmares, screaming during sleep and bedwetting, persisting more than several days after the event.

* Loss of concentration and irritability.

* Startled easily, jumpy.

* Behavior problems - for example, misbehaving in school or at home in ways that are not typical for the child.

* Physical complaints such as stomachaches, headaches or dizziness for which a physical cause cannot be found.

* Withdrawal from family and friends, sadness, listlessness, decreased activity and preoccupation with the events of the disaster.

Professional advice or treatment for children affected by a disaster - especially those who have witnessed destruction, injury or death - can help prevent or minimize PTSD. Parents who are concerned about their children can ask their pediatrician or family doctor to refer them to a child and adolescent psychiatrist for an evaluation.

Source: American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry