Teenage mother killed in East El Paso collision; husband, baby in car

A young woman who gave birth just weeks ago died after crashing her car into a retaining wall along Interstate 10 Thursday night.

Stephanie Apodaca, 17, leaves behind a one-month-old son and her husband of 10 months, Mario Leyva Dominguez.

The incident happened just before 10 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Gateway West and Lomaland Drive in East El Paso. Police say three people, including the couple’s baby, were in the car at the time of the wreck. Police said Apodaca, who was driving, was pronounced dead at Del Sol Medical Center.

The 17-year-old was driving a Pontiac Grand Am south on Lomaland toward I-10 when she veered just before approaching the traffic lights, police said.

Police say Apodaca was not wearing a seat belt, but the baby in the back seat was strapped to a car seat and was not injured. Leyva, 22, was also taken to a hospital with only minor injuries.

County records show Leyva and Apodaca married last September 19.