Jury selection underway in wrongful death lawsuit for Pharr boy

PHARR, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The family of a Pharr boy is in court today after filing a wrongful death lawsuit after their young son was killed while riding his bike last year.

Jury selection in the case begins at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

As previously reported by ValleyCentral, the parents of Caleb Ramirez, an 8-year-old boy who died in a crash while riding his bike in his neighborhood, are suing the Pharr Police Department, the alleged 17-year-old driver in the crash, and the driver's parents and brother.

Caleb’s parents, Sonia Hernandez and Jose Ramirez are seeking more than $1 million in damages.

A Texas Department of Transportation crash report, obtained by ValleyCentral, states that officers were dispatched at 7:30 p.m. on April 26, 2024 to the 700 block of East Eller Street.

Police say the teen was driving a truck as he left an apartment complex when he struck the boy as he was attempting to cross the street on his bicycle.

The report states the boy did not yield the right of way to the truck and was struck by the front bumper of the vehicle. Caleb was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

Since his death, Caleb's mother has spoken to the media about how her son was not at fault for his own death. She took to social media on the anniversary of his death last month to detail what she witnessed in the last moments of her young son's life.

The lawsuit filed by Caleb's parents states that he was “plowed over by a reckless, distracted driver” and was “acting as a reasonable and prudent young boy riding a bicycle in his own neighborhood.”

His parents argue that Caleb looked both ways for traffic, meanwhile, the driver of the GMC Sierra Truck was stopped on the wrong side of the road, facing the wrong direction for that lane of travel.

The lawsuit alleges that the teen driver failed to stop and render aid, and instead continued to “speed down the street away from the scene” until he was flagged down by witnesses.

The lawsuit accuses the driver of gross negligence, and since he was a minor, his parents are “vicariously liable for his conduct.”

At the time of the crash, the 17-year-old was given a citation for not having a driver’s license, and according to the suit, was "promptly whisked away from the scene" by his mother.

Additionally, Caleb's parents are suing the teen's older brother for lending his truck to his brother without a valid driver's license, the lawsuit states.

After his death, Caleb's parents claimed to have made two open records requests, including incident reports, narratives, body cams, dash cams and other supplement reports. They said they did not learn of the crash report until May 14 when it was published by ValleyCentral, heightening their frustrations.

In May of 2024, the Pharr Police Department informed that Caleb's case was submitted to the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office. After all the evidence and circumstances were examined by the DA’s office, the case was presented to a grand jury for consideration.

However, on May 29, 2024, the grand jury returned a decision of “no bill,” and no indictment was made.

Hidalgo County records indicate the trial for this suit begins Tuesday.

Steven Masso contributed to this report.