Neighbors Want More Done To Prevent Fatal ATV Accidents

A teenager involved in an ATV crash that killed two other teens on Sunday night remains in critical but stable condition.

Meanwhile, those who live in the neighborhood near where the accident occurred — just behind the Socorro Student Activities Complex — want to know why the teens were allowed to be there in the first place.

There are several “No trespassing” signs surrounding that area, but residents say they often go ignored, as they apparently did last weekend.

“We’re really trying hard to keep that area safe,” said Judy Ramirez, spokesperson for the America’s Estates Neighborhood Association, who thinks the fatal ATV accident that happened in the area behind her home could have been prevented. “It’s just very frustrating and we need help, we really do.”

Ramirez said the neighborhood association raised nearly $1,000 and put up six signs stating “no trespassing” and “violators will be prosecuted.”

Unfortunately, two weeks later many of those signs disappeared, she said, so they raised another $1,000 dollars and put up more signs. Still, many people are simply ignoring them and going around the guard rail.

“They didn’t pay attention to that and really, lot of times, who does?” said George Amparan, who owns a $250,000 home that border the desert area. “You see a lot of people out here, they just ignore that and see what they can get away with.”

ABC-7 spotted the Sheriff’s Office patrolling the are on Tuesday afternoon.

“The Sheriff’s department, they’ve been working with us, they’ve been trying to help us,” Ramirez said. “But a while back they told us that area was off-limits to them.”

A Sheriff’s spokesman told ABC-7 the area is so large, consisting of thousands of acres, it’s difficult to enforce no trespassing throughout it. He added that it’s also tough to prosecute those that ignore the signs without approval from the land owner.

“We like our privacy,” Amparan said, “and that’s why we moved out here.”

Ramirez added: “We purchased the signs, we put the signs up there, but now they’re telling us they can’t go because we were unauthorized to put the signs up which is not true.”

A press secretary for the General Land Office in Austin confirmed to ABC-7 that they did give the neighborhood association permission to put up the signs. He said the land is Permanent School Fund land and his office has been working with the El Paso Sheriff’s Office to enforce “no trespassing” in the area.

Unfortunately, he said, they have no interest in prosecuting teenagers for the crime, which would result in an arrest.