2 El Pasoans killed in traffic collisions en route to, from high school football games

Editor’s note: The Bowie-related crash happened on the way home from the game, not on the way to the game as the reporter says in the video.

Two El Pasoans were killed in separate crashes this weekend while en route to or from high school football games out of town.

The father of a Chapin High School football player was killed in a crash near Amarillo just before midnight Saturday. The crash involved nearly a dozen vehicles on I-40 in Oldham County and is being blamed on the weather. Two other people were killed in the crash and several others were hurt.

The father was identified as Hector Perales who was a teacher at Pasodale Elementary in the Ysleta Independent School District.

“The Ysleta ISD family is heartbroken to learn about the loss of one of our
beloved fourth grade teachers, Mr. Hector Perales.,” YISD Superintendent Dr. Anna L. Perez said in a statement. “Mr. Perales was a motivator, a father figure, and truly cared about his students at Pasodale Elementary. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, and the Pasodale community”.

Grief counselors will be at Pasodale for students and staff on Monday,
December 2, when the district opens after the Thanksgiving break.

A Culberson County Sheriff’s spokesman told ABC-7 Sunday that a fatal wreck involving an El Paso family occurred while they were traveling home from a high school football game. He said a van with 11 people returning from Bowie’s game crashed and that one of the van’s occupants was killed.

El Paso Independent School District officials said the person in the van that died was the grandmother of a Bowie football player.

“This has been a sad and tragic weekend for our EPISD family,” Superintendent Juan Cabrera said. “We are heartbroken by the loss of the grandmother of a Bowie football player and the father of a Chapin football player. Our thoughts and prayers remain with both families, and the Chapin and Bowie communities during this difficult time. We are here to support the families and the school communities”

Grief counselors will be made available at both campuses when the students return.

EPISD officials continue to be concerned about the dangerous road conditions from Amarillo and Midland to El Paso. A decision had been made for both the Chapin and Bowie football teams, band and staff to travel home Monday when road conditions are expected to improve.

Principals will be checking the roads and conditions with TxDot before they make a decision to leave on Monday .