Judge grants temporary injunction in Pharr boy's death

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The family of 8-year-old Caleb Ramirez wants to make sure any evidence tied to their son’s death is not lost.

The parents want to know why nobody was charged in his death. Secondly, they also want to see all the evidence that the Pharr Police Department has on the case.

Sonia Hernandez and Jose Ramirez, Caleb's parents, say they just want accountability. Their son was riding his bike in late April on the 700 block of E. Eller St. in Pharr when he was struck and killed near their home.

The 93rd State District Judge Fernando Macias granted an injunction that prevents the family of the teen driver accused of running over and killing Caleb from deleting any evidence in the case.

Alex Castillo, the driver involved in the accident but a minor at the time, was in the courtroom today. Also present was his brother, Orlando Castillo, who owns the truck Alex was driving.

Since Alex was underage at the time of the incident, his parents Aurea and Vicente Castillo were also asked to appear in court.

“It’s important to clear out Caleb’s name," Hernandez said. "His name was slandered stating that he was responsible for his own death since the beginning and someone said it, who, what and why? And that’s what we are trying to clear out.”

As part of the injunction, the Castillo family is prohibited from deleting any text messages or selling the truck involved in the accident until the case is settled.

The attorneys for the City of Pharr were not present because they had already agreed to preserve the evidence prior to the hearing.

“They did the right thing, and their attorney came forward and entered into what's called a Rule 11 Agreement with me, where the city agrees to preserve all that relevant evidence," said Ray Thomas, the family's attorney. They don't need a court order to tell them to do that because they did it by official agreement.”

Thomas says he wants all evidence in the department’s custody, including body cam footage, a download of the electronic control module of the vehicle, and any witness statements the police might have done. He says police did not conduct a toxicology report on the driver.

Thomas says the City of Pharr will remain a part of the lawsuit until the city complies with their requests. He says previously, the city denied a records request from the family.

“The end result is for everybody to come out and say, hey, we messed up, and we take it back," Ramirez said. "Give us an apology because we didn’t even receive that from the department that we rely on, that we trust, and they are supposed to protect and serve. Well, we serve them.”

Ramirez wore a necklace in court, which he says contained his son’s ashes. The family says they continue to grieve while they try to move on.

They say the one most impacted by Caleb’s death is their two-year-old, Joshua Ramirez, who also witnessed the accident.

“Our kids are traumatized," Hernandez said. "We saw everything from the beginning to the end and my two-year-old is traumatized. He states and throws himself to the floor and would be ‘ouhiu.’ ‘Caleb boubou, bike’. Because he saw everything, so its a mourning process that we don’t have to deal with as there is not a book that tells you how to do it. We just go by it, day by day.”

ValleyCentral did reach out to the Castillo family for comment, but they declined.