73-year-old man struck by El Paso city truck dies in hospital; driver faulted but not charged
EL PASO, Texas -- A 73-year-old man died in the hospital of his injuries just one day after being struck by a city-owned vehicle in the Lower Valley, authorities said on Monday.
Miguel Pantoja Carrillo's death on Friday was the 55th traffic fatality of the year in El Paso; it was also the ninth pedestrian accident in just over a month and was the third in a week.
Investigators said Carrillo was crossing Alameda Avenue at Harris Street in the crosswalk with a green light when he was struck by a City of El Paso Environmental Services pickup truck around 10:30 a.m. last Thursday.
Authorities on Friday had said the city employee driving the pickup, 29-year-old Jaime Jacquez, was making a turn at the time of the accident and "failed to yield the right of way to the pedestrian at the crosswalk."
However, police did not indicate they had issued any citations in the incident and said it remained under investigation. To date, there have been no announcements of any charges filed against drivers striking pedestrians -- despite a flurry of incidents over the past month or so.
Thursday's incident involving a city truck, ironically, happened while the El Paso Police Department and the Texas Department of Transportation were hosting an event to kick off a pedestrian safety campaign.
Last week's other pedestrian incidents were both fatalities. They included a 13-year-old boy killed last Monday night after being struck in northeast El Paso, and a 67-year-old woman who was struck and killed in the Lower Valley last Tuesday.
