3 Killed In Traffic Collision Near Vinton, Texas

Three people were killed in a two-vehicle traffic collision on Westside Drive near Vinton Road just west of Vinton, Texas.

The collision occurred just before 10 a.m. Wednesday. Dona Ana County Sheriff’s office officials said a blue coupe was traveling on Westside Drive when the driver ran a stop sign and collided with a white truck that had the right-of-way at the intersection.

Officials said the driver of the white truck tried to veer away from the blue coupe but was unsuccessful. Both cars were sent spinning into a farm field northwest of the intersection.

Sheriff’s officials said the driver of the blue car, 22-year-old Andrew Valenzuela died at the scene. His two passengers – 21-year-old Karla Diaz, who was pregnant, and a 2-year-old boy – were taken to an El Paso hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The woman’s baby, a girl, was delivered shortly after arriving at the hospital, but both the woman and the baby died a few hours later.

Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kelly Jameson said speed may have been a factor in the crash.

“We don’t know at this time if he was going 40 or if he was going faster because of the time of the accident. There wasn’t a lot of traffic. He could have been going faster. We don’t know. We’re going to look into that,” said Jameson.

Jameson also said the driver of the white truck suffered head lacerations and was also taken to an area hospital.

Westside Drive was closed for about an hour while crews worked to clear the scene.

Deputies at the scene said no one was wearing a seat belt in the blue coupe and the child safety seat was not properly secured.

Neighbors in the area told ABC-7 that the two-way stop at the intersection is known for being dangerous.

“Basically people don’t stop at the stop sign where they are supposed to. The other side of the traffic that doesn’t have the stop sign, we actually have to stop for the people that won’t,” said neighbor Tami Arenivar.

Arenivar said she’s seen more than ten accidents at that intersection in the past few years. She said she and other locals treat the intersection as a four-way stop to prevent collisions like this from occurring.

Slideshow of the crash: click here. http://www.kvia.com/slideshow/news/31072528/detail.html