Deadly Crash Victims’ Families Speak With ABC-7
The families of three young people involved in a deadly wreck early Wednesday morning in West El Paso opened up to ABC-7.
“The whole family is devastated,” said Juan Araujo. Araujo is the uncle of one of the victims, 23-year-old Kim Araujo.
“She was a good mom,” said Araujo, who visited the site of the crash Wednesday afternoon. “She was a good person. She was an angel. Right now, my brother and sister-in-law are very devastated because of this tragedy.”
Two people were killed and three others hospitalized in the crash that killed Kim Araujo. Police said 22-year-old Miguel Vargas was speeding in a red Mitsubishi Lancer south on Mesa Street when he lost control at the Executive Center Boulevard intersection just before 2:30 a.m. In the car were Stacy Reyes, 18; Nefi Armendariz, 20; Idaly Reyes, 19; and Kim Araujo, 23.
The vehicle began sliding sideways and crashed through a rock wall before becoming airborne. The car the traveled to the bottom of an embankment at 4171 N. Mesa, struck a tree trunk and caught fire.
When the Mitsubishi hit the rock wall, Araujo, who was in the back seat, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
Idaly Reyes who was in the back seat suffered fatal injuries inside the vehicle.
Araujo’s uncle, Juan Araujo, said she was the mother of a 3-year-old.
The southbound lanes of Mesa remained closed until 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, as police continued to investigate.
The fire was so extensive that the color, make and model of the vehicle could not be determined, police said.However, ABC-7 cameras spotted the bumper of a red Mitsubishi at the scene. The fire also burned the office building at 4171 N. Mesa and caused damage.
Officers with the Special Traffic Investigations unit have determined that speed, alcohol, and failure to wear seat belts are contributing factors in this fatal collision.
Armendariz, a back-seat passenger, and Stacy Reyes, a front-seat passenger, were taken to University Medical Center where their conditions are unknown.
Vargas was treated and released with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. He was arrested on suspicion of two counts of intoxicated manslaughter and two counts of intoxicated assault. His bonds totaled $250,000.
“I know people must be judging him now,” Vargas’s aunt Yesenia Calleros told ABC-7. “But he was a good man.”
Calleros said Vargas lives and works in Oklahoma and was visiting El Paso for the holidays. She said he would never mean to do any harm and is an affectionate, responsible person.
“We feel the pain that the parents of the victims must be feeling,” said Calleros.
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