Special needs student dies after being hit by truck

CROSBY, TX (KTRK) -- Thirty hours after 18-year-old Christopher Cody Dubose was struck by a truck driven by a fellow student at Crosby High School, he died of his injuries. Friends say he never woke up after sustaining the injuries.

Dubose was a special needs student, and those who knew and loved him said he had a childlike personality. He was expected to graduate next year from the high school, which was less than a mile from his house.

Theresa Brown, his older sister, said that he missed the school bus Wednesday morning.

"He absolutely loved going to school," she said. "He was in a panic to get there."

Dubose took his skateboard, and his sister believes he was crossing the street when he was struck. There are few streetlights on Krenek Road. Investigators said Wednesday that the 16-year-old driver stated that when he saw Cody, it was too late. No charges were filed.

Crosby HS special needs student has died after crash

Theresa Brown doesn't blame the driver but the road itself.

"People fly through here," she said. "If you're walking on the road, there is no shoulder. You have to jump in the ditch to get out of the way."

There is no sidewalk, either. The area is in unincorporated Harris County, which doesn't typically provide sidewalks. The infrastructure director for County Commissioner Jack Mormon says the office has a relationship with Crosby ISD to address areas of safety concern near schools, and what happened on Krenek Road may be part of a new discussion. Precinct 2 has provided some sidewalks near schools out of its own fund in the past, he said.

Crosby High School student Haley Chevalier said a sidewalk would be a major improvement.

"You have people walking through yards and taking trails, just to avoid the road, and the only light at night is from headlights," she said.

Her immediate concern is the loss of Cody Dubose, who she considered a friend.

"I haven't stopped crying all day," she said. "And I'm tired of crying."

The family has started a GoFundMe account, which can be found under Christopher Cody Dubose. The goal is $10,000 to pay for a funeral. A benefit will be held on the parking lot of Crosby High School Saturday morning. Food will be sold to help raise money.

She also plans to place two white crosses on Krenek Road: one in front of the family's modest home and the other where he was struck. But, Cody's big sister has another wish.

"I think Krenek Road and a sidewalk should be named after my brother," she said. "Because he loved walking to school."