Winter storm power loss likely factored into 11-year-old Conroe boy's death, family says

Friday, February 19, 2021
11-year-old plays in snow 1 day, then dies the next day
11-year-old plays in snow 1 day, then dies the next dayBeing from Honduras, 11-year-old Cristian Pavon hadn't seen snow before. So getting to see it for the first time on Monday was exciting. But tragedy struck the following day.

CONROE, Texas (KTRK) -- A Conroe family is mourning the loss of an 11-year-old boy who died after his family's home lost power.

Being from Honduras, 11-year-old Cristian Pavon hadn't seen snow before. So getting to see it for the first time on Monday was exciting.

"He told his mom to take video of him in the snow. To take pictures of him and that was the last time she has any videos of him," said Jaliza Yera, Cristian's aunt.

With that snow though, came bitterly cold weather. By nightfall, the cold was hard to bear. The family lost power Sunday night into Monday morning and they still didn't have power Monday night either.

"It was very cold and the stepdad said even the mom was shivering that night," said Yera.

In the middle of the night, Cristian's stepfather woke up and checked on the kids.

"He made sure they were okay. They were still breathing. He covered them up, patted them and went back to sleep," said Yera.

The next day, the family thought Cristian was sleeping, only to discover he was unresponsive. Yera said Cristian was found unresponsive around 2:30 p.m. His family called her and she went over to the house.

"We still did CPR until the fire department came and they took over and within a minute they told us it was too late. It was hard because I have kids myself," said Yera.

His aunt told ABC13 Cristian had no underlying conditions and they believe the cold was a contributing factor, even though they haven't learned the official cause of death.

"I'm heartbroken, I had never imagined any of this was going to happen," said Yera.

Cristian's family has started a GoFundMe to help send Cristian back to Honduras to see his grandparents, one last time. He'd told his mother he wanted to see them.

"He always told her that he was going to see his grandparents one day," said Yera.

SEE ALSO: At least 2 people dead due to exposure to frigid temperatures, Galveston County judge confirms

From the deaths to the amount of people without power, this is what Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said as the state of Texas is in its third day of a winter storm.

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