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Mother of Deer Park ISD student killed by accused drunken driver dies from cancer, family says

Gloria, Marissa Burke's mother, was briefly released from the hospital on Nov. 17 as her family made the decision to remove her daughter from life support.

DEER PARK, Texas — The mother of a Deer Park ISD student who died after being hit in a crash caused by an accused drunken driver has passed away from cancer, according to her family.

Editor's note: The above video was published before we learned of the mother's death.

Gloria, Marissa Burke's mother, was briefly released from the hospital on Nov. 17 as her family made the decision to remove her daughter from life support. Gloria was undergoing treatment for complications from her cancer care.

On Thursday, Nov. 29, her family announced that Gloria had lost her battle with cancer. In a statement, the family said, in part, that they were appreciative of all the support and love the community has shown them.

Read their full statement:

"Many of you know that our sweet baby girl, Marissa, was hit by a drunk driver on November 13 on her walk home from school. She fought hard but unfortunately succumbed to her injuries on November 17. Her entire family was by her side, including her mother Gloria. Gloria has fought her own health battle dealing with cancer. While Gloria fought cancer, fought it hard. The heartbreak of losing a child is something she just couldn't defeat. Gloria joined Marissa in the evening on November 28.

"Our family truly appreciates the outpour of support and love from the community. We are beyond grateful for every single person who donates, called, texted, showed up and prayed. We will never to be tell you how much you kept us all going.

"As we start the next step of the process, we ask for privacy and prayers. We promise to keep the community updated with a now double memorial service. Again, we are so thankful to our community.

"The Burke and Herring Family"

What happened

Marissa Burke was walking home from school on November 14 when police say Leland Benfrank Smith, 55, lost control of his truck on Georgia Avenue, veered onto the sidewalk and struck a pole that hit her.

Deer Park police said Smith failed a field sobriety test and was initially arrested on a charge of intoxication assault. He is now charged with murder.

Smith has three previous DWI convictions and other crimes on his record.

  • Records show his first DWI arrest was in 1991.
  • He was arrested on a second DWI charge in 2008 and sentenced to 30 days.
  • In 2009, Smith was charged with his third DWI offense, along with a charge of injury to an elderly person. He received a two-year sentence on both charges.
  • Smith's most recent arrest was in 2017 on an assault charge when he was given another 30-day sentence.
  • Other charges over the years include burglary, theft and resisting arrest.

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