WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — After losing her son back in October 2023, the mother of 17-year-old Carlos Hernandez, Anna Gamble, is speaking out after having to remove a cross they put up in remembrance of him.

The removal of the cross, standing off the sharp curve on Maplewood Ave where Hernandez lost his life , comes after a high number of complaints, according to Wichita Falls Public Information Officer Chris Horgen.

For the past eight months, Gamble has been grieving the loss of her firstborn son, Carlos, but now, she’s faced with a new problem.

“It’s just heartbreaking that somebody would complain about a cross of someone that you have lost,” Gamble said. “He was my firstborn; he leaves behind five siblings, and his baby was born just a month ago, so everything has been really hard lately.”

Hernandez was killed in a tragic car accident in October of last year, and in order to remember her son, a large cross was placed where his car crashed.

After several calls to the city from residents complaining about the cross, however, it has since been removed.

“I know everybody in the community feels it when we lose someone young like that in a tragic accident,” Horgen said. “The call was made after complaints had come in about the memorial. It had been there eight months, and typically in situations like that, we give citizens or family and friends as much time as we can to let them grieve.”

Horgen said because there were so many calls regarding the memorial and because it was on city property, action had to be taken. He was not able to disclose the exact nature of the complaints but stated that several people had complained.

Meanwhile, family members said the cross serves as a reminder to anyone driving by the dangers of speeding through that curve.

“I don’t feel like it was a distraction at all, especially it being a cross,” Carlos’ aunt, Alicia Webb, said. “Right there on that curve, that curve is so dangerous, and people speed through it nonstop; us being out there, seeing people slam on their brakes.”

Gamble said since her son’s accident, she’s been talking with city officials to try to get a guardrail installed where the accident happened , something that still has yet to be done.

She said that the next action she will be taking is getting a petition signed by residents in hopes of having the cross returned to its original location.

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