SAN ANTONIO – More than a month has gone by since Northside ISD instructional assistant Alfred Jimenez, better known as “Mr. Fred,” died after sustaining an injury on the job.
His widow, Margo, is still looking for answers.
“He died doing what he loved to do, which was taking care of those children,” Margo Jimenez said.
Jimenez, 73, died at a hospital on Feb. 17 due to injuries he sustained 10 days earlier in a class of students with learning and emotional disabilities.
“The injury occurred while the employee was attempting to redirect a student. In the course of the interaction with the student, the employee fell to the floor and sustained a head injury,” Northside ISD spokesman Barry Perez said.
“The last thing he said to me was he kissed me, and he said, ‘Babe, I love you, and I’ll see you later,” Margo said.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner ruled Alfred’s death a homicide. San Antonio police took over the case.
“He said he could see this really big person come towards Freddy and shoved him and just pushed him,” said Margo, as she described what SAPD investigators told her.
Since her initial interaction with police, Margo said she has had no luck getting updates on the investigation.
KSAT emailed SAPD. In its response, the department said, “No updates on this case as of yet. The investigation is still ongoing.”
“Do you want charges for anyone, or have you thought about that at this point?” KSAT reporter John Paul Barajas asked Margo.
“The way I see it is it’s not his fault,” Margo answered. “So no, I wouldn’t want to do anything to this young man. That would be awful, but I do want NISD to take action.”
Jimenez is asking for more safety measures and additional teachers.
“One of (Alfred’s) good friends was assaulted there as well, but you never heard about it in the news,” Margo said.
Northside ISD sent KSAT a statement in response to this story.
“Since the tragic death of Mr. JImenez, NISD has worked collaboratively with the San Antonio Police Dept. in conducting a thorough investigation into the incident. We are unable to speak to this ongoing investigation. However, we can confirm that the district continues to assess and evaluate our current protocols and practices with respect to specialized classroom settings, including the training provided to staff. This includes a review of professional development in areas such as de-escalation. We are committed to continually enhancing and improving our safety protocols for all students and staff.”
For now, Jimenez continues to wait for answers and navigate her grief.
“I thought losing my son was the worst thing, but he (Alfred) helped me through that,” Margo said. “And I don’t know how I’m going to survive this.”
