A 14-year-old boy with autism was struck and killed by an SUV after running across U.S. 54 South in El Paso on Tuesday afternoon.

The boy, identified as Joseph Nathanial Caraballo, was an El Paso Independent School District and had a history of eloping, a behavior common in some autistic children.

"Of having safety plans put in place for Joey, for him to be safe, for them to sit with him, be by his side at all times. Where was that person? I don't know," Evette Ortiz, Joseph Caraballo's mother told KTSM.

Caraballo's family confirmed his death to KTSM and on social media, expressing their grief and frustration.

The family shared that Joseph had level 3 autism, the most severe on the spectrum, which contributed to his tendency to flee from designated safe areas.

Family members allege th

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