Red Cross “Volunteer Of The Year” Dies in Head-On Crash

A Red Cross volunteer was killed when the car he was driving was struck head-on by a pickup going the wrong way early Monday in Northeast El Paso, police said.

Police said Jim Howard was driving a white 1994 Plymouth Acclaim north on U.S. 54 when a gray GMC Sierra pickup heading south in the northbound lane slammed into the car head-on near the Sun Valley Drive exit. According to Police Spokesman Mike Baranyay, Howard was pinned and died at the scene. Previous reports said the Plymouth was parked on the side of the road, but police said it was moving. The pickup rolled over.

Howard was recently named Volunteer of the Year by the local Red Cross, officials said.

“It’s tragic and we can only hope that there was mininal pain, and Jim did really want to help other people every day of his life. And I know that regardless of the way it happened, he would ask us to keep moving forward in his honor,” said Mark Matthys, executive director of the El Paso Red Cross.

The driver of the pickup has not been identified pending the investigation. He faces charges, police said. He was taken to University Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Investigators with the Special Traffic Investigations Unit said speed and alcohol were likely factors in the crash. No other passengers were involved in the crash.

This is the 36th traffic-related death this year, equaling the number at the same time last year.

Howard had been with the Red Cross since 2005. He began volunteering in El Paso during Hurricane Katrina and had traveled to assist in disaster relief efforts during Texas hurricanes and in the recent Mississippi floods.

“He always wanted to bring a little extra life and put a smile on your face even though we were facing a crisis. Seeing the look of relief on a client’s face, knowing that he was making a difference, that he was changing a life, and saving the day, I think that’s what brought him to our office every day,” said Matthys.