A tragedy that fuels a mission

Nov. 12, 2026

By Danny Perez

PEARLAND, Texas — One summer night 10 years ago, Endy Ekpanya, a Pearland police officer, was responding to an emergency call with lights and sirens activated while traveling along FM 518, a divided roadway.

Traveling in the opposing lane was an impaired driver who crossed into Officer Ekpanya’s lane and struck his patrol car head-on. The crash killed the young officer. The driver was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

Officer Ekpanya had just started a family with his wife, Lucy, and their young son, Julian. They were in the early stages of building a life together.

“We had spent the preceding year working incredibly hard to build our dream life. We had bought our family car just two months earlier and closed on our house a few months before that,” Lucy Ekpanya said. “Endy worked multiple jobs and spent his free time thinking about how to make life better for us.”

They were planning birthdays, anniversaries, vacations and all the milestones young families look forward to, but now, Lucy found herself standing beside her husband’s hospital bed, struggling to comprehend a world without him.

“We were young, building a future and making sacrifices for the family we wanted to become,” Lucy said. “I had no idea that the life we were working so hard to build could disappear in an instant.”

Lucy remembers that day vividly.

“I lost my partner, my sense of security and the future I had imagined for our family,” she said. “I had to begin figuring out how to live in that reality while raising a little boy who had just lost his father.”

Lucy has made every effort possible to ensure her son knows exactly who his father was. She has filled Julian’s life with stories about Endy’s acts of kindness, generosity and commitment to family.

“For me, honoring Endy is not just about remembering how he died. It is about remembering how he lived, the way he loved us and the values he left behind,” Lucy said. “It is about raising Julian with those values and trying to live a life that reflects the goodness Endy brought into ours.”

Ten years later, the pain is still there.

“Grief is a beast. It is unpredictable, and it doesn’t simply disappear because time has passed,” she said. “It comes in waves, sometimes when you least expect it, and you learn that losing someone isn’t a one-time experience. You continue to encounter that loss at different stages of your life.”

As the years have passed, Lucy has done her best to navigate her grief. Special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, Father’s Day and Julian’s achievements often bring both joy and heartache.

Looking back over the past decade, Lucy says grief has taught her grace, resilience and gratitude. The loss of Endy will always be part of her story, but it is not the whole story. Her story is also one of perseverance, motherhood, growth and hope.

“If there is one thing I would want people to understand, it is that healing doesn’t mean forgetting or leaving someone behind. It means finding a way to carry their love forward while allowing yourself to keep living,” Lucy said.

Earlier this month Texas marked the 26th anniversary of the last deathless day on Texas roadways. Since Nov. 7, 2000, someone has died on Texas roads every day. More than 95,000 people have been killed in traffic crashes since then, leaving their families and communities devastated.

Lucy is joining TxDOT to encourage anyone who may be tempted to drink and drive to do their part to help #EndTheStreakTX and think about the lives that could be forever changed by their actions.

Her family has spent the last 10 years living with the consequences of someone else’s choice.

“When someone chooses to drive drunk, they may be thinking only about getting home or believing they are capable of making the drive,” Lucy said. “But the people they encounter on the road have no say in that decision. They may be parents, children, spouses or someone who has spent years working toward a future with the people they love.”

Lucy has remained active in her community and has participated with TxDOT in multiple traffic safety initiatives. She pleads with anyone planning to drink to call someone, find a sober ride or take a taxi.

“You may believe you are making a decision that affects only you, but it doesn’t,” she said. “You have the power to protect someone else’s future and prevent another family from experiencing the heartbreak that ours has endured. Please don’t make a choice that leaves another family spending the rest of their lives trying to understand why someone they love is no longer coming home.”