Mother of son injured in drunk driving incident urges others to be careful during spring break

The mother of a man who was injured in a drunk driving incident is urging others to play it safe heading into spring break.

Theresa Hill said she received a phone call on the Fourth of July about seven years ago that her son, Mason Myers, was being care flighted to the hospital. She said when she arrived to the hospital, he was hooked up to monitors.

"He wasn't awake, he wasn't moving, he was just laying there," Hill said.

Mason Myers was severely injured in a drunk driving incident in New Braunfels seven years ago.

Myers was involved in a drinking and driving incident near the river in New Braunfels. Police said Myers was on the tailgate, the driver was drunk and driving recklessly trying to show off. Myers fell off.

"We relive this all the time when we talk about it because it is a scary thing that does happen, and nobody ever thinks it's going to happen to you. I sure didn't. My son, he's careful with what he does. It's just, it was an accident, but drunk driving has a consequence, and it doesn't matter if it's you that it affects or somebody else, something is not going to end well with that," Hill said.

Myers was in the hospital for eight days, but survived.

"He’s a walking miracle," Hill said.

Because of his head injury, Myers cannot smell or taste anything and his sense of touch is limited.

"This will be a lifelong injury that he will always have," Hill said.

Hill said she’s grateful he’s alive. 

Theresa Hill said she received a phone call on the Fourth of July about seven years ago that her son, Mason Myers, was being care flighted to the hospital. She said when she arrived to the hospital, he was hooked up to monitors.

TxDOT said a person in Texas dies every 7 hours and 43 minutes in a DUI alcohol-related traffic crash.

"Every one of these, the crashes, the deaths, the serious injuries, they were all 100% preventable," TxDOT Austin District PIO Glynda Chu said.

"Just don’t do it, it’s not worth the risk," Hill said.

This spring break, TxDOT launched a "Drive Sober, No Regrets" drunk driving prevention campaign.

"Unfortunately, you know, between 2020 and 2021 we saw a 24% increase in deaths from DUI spring break crashes and that's just not acceptable," Chu said, "If you do have a DUI, it can cost you up to $17,000. You could lose your job, you could lose your credibility, your family members may not trust you uh for a while. So, there's, there's no win."

The Austin Police Department is enforcing a "No Refusal" initiative during traffic stops and will have more officers on the streets through March 19.