On Monday, The Dallas Morning News printed an obituary announcing the death of David Cerda.
Cerda is here — quite alive — to say that it's not true.
“I woke up to texts and phone calls, went out to Facebook and people were talking about it on Facebook,” Cerda said.
His mom, Maria Cerda, was flooded with phone calls and people dropping in to console her.
“A lady was telling me she was fixing to bake a cake, and I said, 'No, don't; David is not dead,'” she said.
Maybe the hardest part is that Maria Cerda has been here before, losing a son to a heart attack.
“I know what she went through," David Cerda said. "No parent should ever have to bury their children. I’m sure when she saw that it brought back some difficult memories.”
“Last night, I couldn't even sleep thinking about," his mother said. "What if it would have happened, you know?"
David Cerda said an acquaintance with mental problems admitted to writing the obituary and providing it to the newspaper.
The Dallas Morning News says this fell through the cracks. "We are deeply sorry that we did not catch this falsified submission, and are checking into the source," the paper said in a statement. "We have apologized directly to Mr. Cerda and have also run an apology in today's newspaper. We are reviewing our fact-checking procedures to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the Obituaries."
Maria Cerda says this apology isn't good enough for her, but at the end of the day, knowing her youngest son is alive trumps all frustrations.
“Thank God I'm still here,” David Cerda said.
The Dallas Morning News said they do not just print any death notice that comes their way; they confirm the information with a family member and even call the funeral home to make sure it's legitimate.
In this case, however, both steps were overlooked.
E-mail sslater@wfaa.com
