‘Tragic accident’ weighs heavily on Tippin community

Monday’s tragic accident that claimed the life of a 33-year-old mother in the Tippin Elementary School parking lot weighed heavily on the minds of parents and children at the school Tuesday afternoon.

El Paso ISD police said 58-year-old Roger Hawkins was backing out of a parking space when he collided with a vehicle. Police said Hawkins then became disoriented and struck three children with his car. When the mother of the children and several witnesses approached his vehicle, Hawkins reportedly became more confused and disoriented and put his car on drive, instead of park. Police said Hawking accidentally accelerated and struck and killed the mother, identified as 33-year-old Kharisma James.

Police said James was the mother of two of the three children allegedly struck by Hawkins, who has not been charged. A Go Fund Me account has been set up to help James’ surviving children.

Tuesday, there was extra security at the school. ABC-7 noticed three EPISD police units at the school. Safety was at the top of everyone’s mind as school let out. Parents were, understandably, on edge. As a car sped through the school zone, several parents yelled at the driver to slow down.

The parents who picked up their children yesterday – without witnessing the tragedy – told ABC-7 they feel lucky.

ABC-7 also spoke with about a dozen parents, many of whom were still too shaken up to speak on camera about the accident. A mother and father, however, were courageous enough to share their stories.

Virginia Prebot witnessed the deadly accident. “My nine-year-old was very affected by it and when we were saying our nightly prayers, he asked me, ‘is tomorrow going to be a normal day?'”

Prebot said she told her son it was going to be a normal day. “I said, you know, we just have to trust in God. God needed her more than we needed her. I didn’t know how else to explain it to him. This morning, he was afraid to walk up to the school,” Prebot said.

A father who spoke with ABC-7 said his wife was James’ friend – and his daughter in the second grade – is friends with the children struck by Hawkins. “When my wife found out, she was very emotional, knowing who the mother was,” said Bryan Tarin, the father of a student at Tippin. “My wife got home and was still a little shaken about it.”

Tarin said what happened Monday afternoon is very hard to explain to children. He said his eldest daughter once attended Tippin and his youngest child is currently enrolled in the school. “Having to explain it to them – that her friend’s mommy lost her life (is hard), but she did it in a courageous way, protecting her children,” Tarin said.