AUSTIN, Texas — Georgia resident Diane Rakestraw said her daughter, Deborah Serna, has always loved children and does everything she can for her pre-K students at Tom Green Elementary School.
On Friday, Serna rode the bus carrying students as they returned from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo before it got struck by a cement truck, causing the bus to roll over. Five-year-old student Ulises Rodriguez Montoya was killed, and 33-year-old University of Texas student Ryan Wallace, who was driving behind the bus, crashed into it and died.
"I got down on my knees and started praying that she wasn't going to die. Because when I saw the severity on YouTube of everything, I called everyone I knew to have them start praying for her," Rakestraw said.
Rakestraw said their prayers were answered. Her daughter has four lower vertebrae broken in her back and bruises on her back, shoulders and legs – but she survived.
"I'm just thankful that Deborah didn't get killed, and no one else was hurt any worse than they already were. But she's got a long recovery because I know when you hurt your back, that's a big deal," Rakestraw said.
As her daughter heals, Rakestraw is thinking about what the long recovery will entail financially and emotionally. But she remains grateful.
"They have four children and, you know, in today's society, you have to have two incomes. So with her not working, it's going to affect them financially with her bills," Rakestraw said. "Even though she's hurt, it could have been a lot worse. Thank God that he spared us."
There is a GoFundMe to help with Serna's medical bills.