Young Men Involved In Deadly Weekend Crash Were Brothers

EL PASO, Texas – A memorial sits near a corner house on the 9700 block of Edgemere. One only need look at the house’s rockwall to see why.

Police say Marcos Cano, 21, a husband and father, was speeding when he lost control and hit the wall around 4:30 Saturday morning. His leg was nearly severed in the crash and he remains at University Medical Center in stable condition.

Erick Vital, 19, his passenger and brother was killed.

Investigators say alcohol was involved.

Vital’s stepfather says Erick, who had just gotten his GED and working on a medical assistant’s degree, was trying to do something with his life after a troubled youth.

“He was a boy that was trying to better himself,” Diaz told ABC-7.

Erick’s mother lives in Juarez after being deported in 2006. In Spanish, she said she was very proud of what her son accomplished and called him her backbone.

Ariana Drobet helped Erick get his life turned around as his case manager at Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande.

“He was really nice, very kind-hearted,” she said.

Drobet says Erick was a such a dedicated student, he would catch the bus and ride it three hours to their eastside center every single day.

Police have yet to say whether Marcos Cano will face charges in his brother’s death.

The family says Erick’s organs were donated.