Rosa Nieto Morales, 71, was struck and killed while crossing Business Highway 35 South at Market Street in Rockport, Texas, and the community she served for years in local kitchens is now mourning her loss. She had a do-not-walk signal at the time of the crash, and the driver, an 88-year-old man, was facing a green light. Police stopped the driver at the scene, and he attempted to render aid.
According to KRIS 6 News, the Rockport Police Department reported that Morales was struck while crossing Business Highway 35 South at Market Street. She was in the crosswalk when she was hit, driving a 2011 Jeep, according to the same report. Rockport Police Chief Nathan Anderson said drivers and pedestrians both have a role in intersection safety, and he advised that pedestrians should not enter an intersection without a walk signal.
Morales worked at Rosita's Taco Shop, located a few blocks from Fresco Eats, where she had also worked. She had family members who worked alongside her at Rosita's, and had spent roughly five years there prior to her death making tortillas and assisting with kitchen prep, per the same report. Zac Partenheimer, co-owner of Rosita's Taco Shop, said Morales was like a grandmother to her coworkers, describing her as caring and quiet.
A Familiar Face In The Kitchen
Partenheimer said the Rockport community supports one another, and Morales was remembered as an abuelita and a familiar face throughout the Rockport community. Her family members include three daughters and one granddaughter, and they have received an outpouring of support from people throughout Rockport, the station's report notes. Her family hopes to bring her body back to Mexico, where she is intended to be laid to rest, and community members can help cover funeral costs.
A public viewing has been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Charlie Marshall Funeral Homes & Crematory in Rockport, according to a Legacy.com notice.
Why Police Don't Expect To File Charges
The Rockport Police Department does not anticipate filing charges against the driver, and continues its crash investigation. That decision tracks with Texas Transportation Code § 552.002, which, as explained by FindLaw, prohibits pedestrians from entering a roadway when facing a steady Don't Walk or Wait signal while granting motorists the right-of-way when proceeding on a green light.
The driver's age also places him under some of the state's stricter licensing rules. Drivers aged 85 and older must renew their driver's licenses in person every two years and pass a vision screening, compared with six-year renewal cycles for drivers aged 79 to 84, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
A Pattern Along Business 35
Morales's death is not the first pedestrian fatality along this stretch of Rockport's commercial corridor. In November 2019, Rockport Police investigated a fatal pedestrian crash on Business Highway 35 South in which a 63-year-old resident operating a mobility scooter was struck and killed, that incident involving a hit-and-run driver. And in October 2015, police investigated another fatal auto-pedestrian crash in the 3500 block of Business Highway 35 South, in which a pedestrian crossing the roadway in dark clothing was struck by a pickup truck; charges were not filed in that case either, according to records from the City of Rockport.
Statewide, the numbers underscore how dangerous these encounters can be. The Texas Department of Transportation recorded 772 pedestrian deaths and 1,455 serious injuries across 6,095 pedestrian crashes in 2024. Pedestrians are involved in only about 1 percent of all Texas traffic crashes, yet they account for roughly 19 percent of all roadway fatalities statewide, per TxDOT's safety analysis. The agency identifies pedestrian failure to yield right-of-way, driver failure to yield right-of-way, driver inattention, and speeding as the four leading contributing factors in these crashes. Early data from 2025 showed 1,372 pedestrian-involved crashes and 186 pedestrian fatalities statewide as part of the state's Drive Like a Texan campaign.
