El Paso man dead, Socorro woman seriously hurt as car crashes into tree on Gateway

UPDATE: Investigators on Sunday afternoon blamed speeding as the cause of a single-car crash earlier in the day that claimed the life of an El Paso man and left a Socorro woman hospitalized in serious condition.

After initially saying the Sunday morning crash occurred on Gateway Boulevard West, police later said it was actually the 7700 block of Gateway East where the deadly collision happened.

Police identified 21-year-old driver Jose Dolores Rodriguez as the man killed and said his passenger, 21-year-old Michell Leyva-Escandon, was listed in serious condition at Del Sol Medical Center.

Officers said Rodriguez was driving at a high rate of speed and weaved between two others cars before losing control, spinning out and colliding with a tree off the roadway.

Rodriguez was El Paso's 56th traffic death of the year, according to police data, compared with 63 at this same time last year.

ORIGINAL REPORT: EL PASO, Texas -- A car crashed into a tree early Sunday in east El Paso, leaving one person dead and another seriously injured.

The single-vehicle collision happened about 5:30 a.m. at 7710 Gateway Boulevard West. Authorities initially reported it as a rollover crash, but it turned out to be a car into a tree.

Police closed the Interstate 10 westbound exit at Giles and also shut down Gateway West from Hunter to Giles as investigators examined the crash scene.

Those road closures remained in effect into the late morning hours after that deadly collision occurred.

For the latest traffic conditions, visit kvia.com/traffic.