El Paso Police release name of man killed in US 54 wreck

El Paso Police have released the name of the 27-year-old man killed in a traffic collision on U.S. 54 early Thursday morning.

The man is John Steven Colon of Heywood, California.

Police say that at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Colon was driving a white Impala north on U.S. 54 in the right late, allegedly at a high rate of speed. Police say Colon was attempting to catch a blue Hyundai driven by Rogelio Gonzalez in the far left lane.

Colon crashed into the back of an F-350 Ford pickup truck driven by Carlos Velma. Colon’s Impala got stuck under the F-350 and both vehicles swerved to the left, crossing three lanes of traffic, and struck Gonzalez’s Hyundai.

Police say speed is believed to be a factor but it is unknown at this time if alcohol contributed to the collision.

The scene of this collision was over a quarter mile in length and this portion of US 54 was closed for 13 hours.

This is the 13th traffic fatality of 2014.