2 Die In Overnight Wrecks, 6 Traffic Deaths In 5 Days
Special Traffic Investigators with the El Paso Police Department said two men died in a pair of wrecks early Saturday morning. The deaths marked the continuation of a deadly trend that has seen six people die in traffic wrecks in the last five days.
At about 4:23 Saturday morning, police officers responded to the 9600 block of Edgemere after a 2006 Pontiac G6 crashed into the rock wall of a home at the corner intersection with Nairn street. The car crashed through the wall and then hit a storage shed within the property, police officials said.
Police officials said Erick Vital, 19, of the 4500 block of Rutherford, was found dead the at the scene. Investigators said Vital was a passenger in the G6 and was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.
The driver of the G6 — 21-year-old Marcos Cano, of the 3500 block of Nashville — was injured and rushed to a local hospital. Police officials said Cano was speeding, lost control of his car, and struck the rock wall. Investigators believe Cano was intoxicated, police officials said.
Less than an hour later, at about 5:08 a.m., police officers responded to another deadly crash at the intersection of Saul Kleinfield and Montana in far east El Paso. Police said Martin Chiw, 21, of the 12400 block of Sombra Alegre, was driving a 2008 Nissan Altima north on Saul Kleinfield and failed to turn onto Montana. Instead, Chiw continued driving straight and crashed into a ditch directly in front of a construction site, police officials said.
Chiw’s passenger — 19-year-old Jesus Hernandez, of the 12400 block of Tierra Nogal — died at the scene. Police said both Chiw and Hernandez were wearing seat belts. However, investigators said they suspect Chiw was speeding and intoxicated. No charges have been filed.
The deaths of Hernandez and Vital marked the fifth and sixth traffic deaths in the last five days. So far this year, 20 people have been killed in traffic wrecks. At the same time last year, only 15 people had been killed.
