The Gonzalez family’s Fort Worth home, often filled with children, was quiet on a Monday night as grieving parents braced each other to talk about their firstborn son.
Irma and Jesus Manuel Gonzalez have been together for almost 20 years and in these years the couple welcomed six children — five boys and one girl — into their world. Earlier this year the family faced a tragic loss when their eldest, 17-year-old Jesus Gonzalez Jr., was killed in a car crash.
In the last three months, Irma has visited the cemetery every evening. After she got home, the couple sat close together on a brown couch in the living room with one of their sons beside them. A large photo of Jesus Jr. smiling was placed next to them as they spoke about his life in an interview with the Star-Telegram on March 9.
“His smile just brought so much joy to many people. He definitely was someone that you can lean on,” mom Irma said.
Irma and Jesus Manuel Gonzalez stand beside a framed photo of their 17-year-old son Jesus Jr. on March 9 at their Fort Worth home. Jesus Gonzalez Jr. was killed in a suspected drunk-driving crash in January. He was a passenger in a car driven by his friend Israel Suastegui. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
“It was he who made me the man that I am today, the man that stands before anybody. I heard a quote once that said, ‘You don’t raise your first child. Your first child raises you,’” dad Jesus Manuel Gonzalez said.
Jesus Jr. was a passenger in a Chrysler 300 driven by his friend Israel Suastegui, 18, on Jan. 3 when Fort Worth police officers tried to the stop the car going the wrong way on Exchange Avenue in the Stockyards, according to police. Suastegui fled from officers before crashing into a utility pole near the 1500 block of East 4th Street, police have said. Jesus Jr. died on the scene.
Suastegui was taken to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth for treatment and was arrested on Feb. 12 after being released from the hospital, police said. He is accused of driving while intoxicated at the time of the crash and is charged with intoxication manslaughter.
Jesus Jr. had many friends, and on the day of a balloon release and his funeral, the family said they saw so many people including his friends and teachers show up to honor his memory.
“He just (would) bring so much joy, and ever since he hasn’t been at school, it’s been hard for a lot of kids to even be in class because they don’t have that joy from him anymore,” Irma said.
Irma Gonzalez talks about her son Jesus, 17, on Monday, March 9, 2026, at their Fort Worth home. Jesus Gonzalez Jr. was killed in a suspected drunk-driving crash in January. He was a passenger in a car driven by his friend Israel Suastegui. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Every day Irma would get a call from her boy after he got home from school and he would tell her about his day. As her voice got heavy, his mother said, “I miss him overall. But those little things.”
Dreams of pursuing dad’s footsteps
Like any other teen, the family said, Jesus loved playing video games and trying out new food. He would send TikTok videos of places that they could try together.
His family said the teen also was passionate about cutting hair. They set up a barber shop at the back of their house where Jesus helped friends and siblings get a fresh cut.
Jesus was a student at the Richard Milburn Academy in Fort Worth, and after graduation he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and join a trade school. Irma said, “We were all ready for graduation — that’s all we talked about within the last couple of months.”
“We never thought we wouldn’t get to witness him walking the stage or pursuing dad’s career, because that’s something he looked up to,” she said.
A protective elder brother
The relationship that his eldest son had with his mother and siblings was special, said dad Jesus Sr. “I used to always tell him that the day I leave, you’re the man that’s going to take care of your mom and your brothers — you’re next in line,” he said.
Jesus Jr. drove his brother to school so they had their “brother moment” every morning, their mother said.
Irma said her oldest was very close to all his siblings and held a “special place in each of their hearts” because of the bond he shared with them.
“He was like a dad to them. He was tough on them, like, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that.’ But he was also very playful,” she said.
Irma and Jesus Manuel Gonzalez hold hands while talking about their son, Jesus Jr., 17, who was killed in a suspected drunk-driving crash. The names of her five sons run the length of Irma Gonzalez’s forearm. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Jesus was very protective of his brothers, his dad said. “I used to always tell them, blood is thicker than water. You may argue, you may fight, but at the end of the day, family is what matters.”
Arian Gonzalez, Jesus’s 15-year-old brother, could not hold back his tears as he was with his parents listening to the conversation.
“Me and him were just, we were always together. He was always, bro, he needs a ride, I got you. Where are you gonna go? You want to go get food? I’ll go pick you up,” Arian said.
“Every day with him was fun,” Arian said, crying. “He was just always there whenever you needed him and wanted to make sure you were happy.”
Jesus Manuel Gonzalez, left, comforts his son Arian as he talks about the loss of his brother, Jesus Jr., on Monday, March 9, 2026, at their Fort Worth home. Gonzalez was killed in a suspected drunk-driving crash in January. He was a passenger in a car driven by his friend Israel Suastegui. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
“We just had our first daughter six months ago,” Irma said. “She was only three months old, and as soon as she was born, she was like his little princess.”
The mom said her 5-year-old son doesn’t understand that his brother’s not coming back. “That hurts because he doesn’t understand my brother won’t be back, and that’s all he talks about at the cemetery.”
“He didn’t just touch hearts — he stole hearts. If you had problems, you could come to him and he’d sit there and listen to you, things that not anybody will sit there and do,” said brother Isaiah Gonzalez, 16, in a phone conversation. “If you needed help with something, he’d give you his last two cents just for you to make it out. He’d worry about himself later.”
Jesus Gonzalez Jr., far right, with his family which includes four brothers and a baby sister. Courtesy of Gonzalez family The night that changed everything
Irma said she allowed her son to attend a party the night of the crash. Later that night she realized he was not back by the normal time that he would come home. Jesus, who the family said has been communicative in the past regarding his whereabouts, had not called or texted.
After texting and not hearing back, Irma said she checked his location and it had stopped loading. “I was like maybe his phone died and he’ll be home soon,” she said.
It was almost 6 a.m. and Jesus was still not home. That is when his mom said she remembered his iCloud password and she noticed that his phone was at a police station. “I was confused. I didn’t know what’s going on,” she said.
The parents said they started searching for him, as all these little things were leading them to keep looking for him. They finally came across a police officer who informed them about the fatal crash.
“There are days when I look back at that moment and I don’t remember what happened after that,” Irma said. “I just know that they told me I had lost my son.”
Arian Gonzalez holds a photograph of his brother, Jesus. Jesus Gonzalez Jr. was killed in a suspected drunk-driving crash in January. He was a passenger in a car driven by his friend Israel Suastegui. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
“It’s something that you don’t realize, because the day before was a normal Friday to us. He went to school, we went to work, we came home, we ate dinner like everything was so normal,” Jesus Sr. added.
“We lost him, but we also feel like we lost all of us — we will never have our life the way it was before January 3. Our life will never be the same,” Irma said.
‘It doesn’t just affect one person’
The family said Jesus Jr. and Israel Suastegui had been friends since Jesus was about 12 years old, and that they had always opened their doors to Israel.
“You can know somebody forever and so saying that (you should) know who your kids hang around with, that’s not something we can say, because we knew who he hung around with, but it’s still, it didn’t change nothing,” Irma said.
“It’s not OK to get behind the wheel when you’re drinking and when you’re not fully conscious,” said Jesus Sr. “There are far more consequences that we don’t think of, because we’re humans, and we just don’t think ahead. It doesn’t just affect one person. That affects generations.”
Jesus Gonzalez Jr. with his mother, Irma. Courtesy of Gonzalez family
Irma said she wants the driver to face consequences. Suastegui was released on bond with conditions that, according to court records, include that a camera-equipped ignition interlock device that tests for alcohol must be installed on any vehicle he drives.
“He has to understand that my son’s never coming back, and he gets to go home to his mom,” Irma said. Jesus “wasn’t just a passenger. He was a first brother, a son, a grandson, a great-grandson and many things to people, but that one person was so selfish and decided to take his life. We want justice for him,” Isaiah said.
Jesus Gonzalez Jr., far right, with his family which includes four brothers and a baby sister. Courtesy of Gonzalez family
Irma said going to the cemetery every day is a way the family has been honoring their child’s memory. While they are there, they sing his favorite songs, go on picnics with him or light a candle.
“I was just praying on my way to work: ‘God, I don’t see the big picture, but I know I’m going to get through it.’ I went into work and talked to a friend, and he gave me this,” Jesus Sr. said, holding a rubber bracelet in his hand that read, “God is big enough.”
“It doesn’t matter how big the storm, God is big enough to get you through it,” he said.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Shambhavi covers crime, law enforcement and other breaking news in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. She graduated from the University of North Texas and previously covered a variety of general assignment topics in West Texas. She grew up in Nepal.