His name was Travis Teixeira.

The truck they were riding in went to pass a car on the right-hand side. The driver overcorrected and crossed four lanes into the median, traveling an estimated one to two football fields before crashing off an overpass at or around 85 to 88 mph. From what I understand, the brakes were never touched.

As the truck went off the highway and into the grass, Travis was screaming the driver's name. He grabbed the wheel, stopping them from going into oncoming traffic.

In the days after Travis died, the driver's best friend came to my house. He told me that he and the driver had been smoking marijuana outside the parking lot of their workplace before the driver met up with Travis and Ricky. This friend refused to speak to the police.

I am sharing this because it is important to understand what I was told and why I have serious concerns about impairment.

I believe the driver was impaired, negligent, and reckless. I believe my son's death could have been prevented if safer decisions had been made.

And I want you to understand something: you do not have to be the person driving to become the person who pays the ultimate price for someone else's decisions.

Travis was not driving that truck. He was a passenger. He asked the driver to slow down. He questioned whether the driver was okay to drive.

And he still died.

Someone who is speeding, weaving through traffic, showing off, racing, or driving under the influence is making a choice that can affect everyone in that car and on the road.

Call your parents. Call a family member. Call someone who will come get you. Call me. I would rather you call me a hundred times in the middle of the night than have another mother standing where I am today.

Every day I wish that Travis had made the decision to call me to come get him.

You cannot control every circumstance on the road. But you can control your speed. You can control whether you drive aggressively. You can control whether you get behind the wheel impaired. You can control whether you choose to get into a car with someone who is making dangerous decisions.

Please do not convince yourself that because you have driven fast or impaired before and nothing happened, you are somehow invincible. Getting away with a dangerous decision once does not make that decision safe the next time.

And when it comes to alcohol and drugs, don't assume that because someone seems normal, talks normally, or insists they're fine, they are safe to drive. Impairment can affect judgment, coordination, and reaction time even when a person doesn't recognize it themselves.

It is not worth it.

I know that unexpected things can happen on the road. But when dangerous decisions are made, when warning signs are ignored, and when someone chooses to drive in a way that puts other people's lives at risk, we cannot simply brush those choices aside because the outcome was unintended. The consequences deserve to be taken seriously.

Since Travis died, my family has had to listen to people minimize what happened and call it just an accident. But for me, this is not just an accident. This was an accumulation of bad choices.

Which leads me to accountability. Since Travis died, the driver has never acknowledged what he has done to Travis and to us. He has never apologized or expressed remorse directly to my family.

I cannot tell you what is in another person's heart. But I can tell you what it feels like to lose your child and be left without the acknowledgment or compassion you hoped would come from someone who was supposed to be a friend.

Could you face the responsibility of killing a friend? Could you face their grieving mother? Their grieving siblings?

Travis left behind five siblings and a mother who miss him deeply. We are carrying a loss that will never go away. When you make a decision behind the wheel, the consequences do not end when the car stops. They can follow families for the rest of their lives.

Being a responsible driver is about much more than passing a test and getting your license. It is about understanding that the privilege of driving comes with the responsibility to protect human life.

You may forget parts of what you read here. You may forget the details. But I hope that the next time you get into a car and someone starts speeding, weaving through traffic, or acting recklessly, you remember Travis.

Travis deserved to live. His life mattered. His future mattered. And your life matters just as much. Please do not make your parents, your siblings, or your friends learn what it feels like to lose you because of a decision that could have been avoided.

I cannot bring Travis back. He cannot come back and tell you his story himself. So I am telling it for him.