El Paso Police: Drunk driver caused roommate’s death
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- According to court documents newly obtained by ABC-7, Martin Medina Jr. is accused of driving into the back of a semi truck. The resulting crash threw his passenger and roommate, Alexander Ortiz, out of the car, pinning and killing him. Investigators believe Medina Jr. was drunk at the time of the crash.
In the early morning hours of December 17, 2023, court documents state that Medina Jr. drank "two 16 ounce shiner bocks while at a bar called 'Flips' on Country Club Road." He was driving along I-10 East near the Executive exit when he veered off the road and crashed into the back of a semi parked in the righthand emergency lane.
Medina Jr. was seriously injured in the collision and had to be rushed to the ICU. During a later interview, Medina Jr. allegedly told officers Ortiz had been laying in the back seat. Court documents state Medina Jr. changed his story multiple times.
Officers got a warrant to test Medina Jr.'s blood. They recorded smelling a strong odor of alcohol on Medina Jr., even hours after the crash.
Medina Jr. was released from the hospital and booked into the El Paso County Jail on a $110,000 bond on December 21, 2023.
