UPDATE:
"We love to make everyone here family," said Lysette Cruz, a manager at Sargento's Mexican Restaurant.
It's an approach that is bringing more heartache right now.
That tradition now hits hard for Sargento's Manager Lysette Cruz, especially after the tragic loss of her former co-worker.
"He was a silly, great young man — I loved working with him. He was very hands on. He learned his job pretty quickly," Cruz said.
She's talking about Thomas Watson who worked with her for about two years in Franklin.
He was killed in crash Wednesday.
Now, she and the community are reflecting on his life.
"It's like you know, you lost another family member, you know, so you spend a lot of time working with these people," Cruz said.
Many neighbors say they know him for football and his character.
"I know Robertson County is pretty hurt, you know, everyone. I get on Facebook, and all I see is just, you know, great posts about who he was," she said.
But one thing Lysette will always miss —
"He usually just pops in here and there to say 'Hi' and see who's working," she said.
And his presence —
"You saw him. You knew him. You know, my brother-in-law and my husband joked around with them. It was somebody that you have walked inside the kitchen and, you know, you could play a joke on or you could, you know, ask how he's doing or he'll even, he would even ask you like, 'How are you doing? How are you feeling?'" Cruz said.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a head-on crash that left one Franklin ISD student dead, and three others injured early Wednesday morning.
Officials say that a Chevrolet 1500 truck was traveling westbound at around 6:11 a.m. when a Ford Mustang, traveling eastbound, drove on the wrong side of the roadway and struck the Chevrolet on Farm-to-Market 2549 — approximately a half a mile east of McCarver Lane.
The passenger in the Ford Mustang, Thomas Watson, 18, of Franklin, was pronounced dead on the scene — the driver and back seat passenger were transported to a hospital with suspected serious injuries.
25 News received confirmation through a classmate that Watson was a 2024 graduate from Franklin ISD.
The driver of the Chevrolet truck was transported to a hospital with suspected minor injuries.
The investigation is ongoing.
This is a developing story and more updates will be provided as they become available.
