Man who hired Don Haskins at UTEP killed in pedestrian accident along with his wife
El Paso Police have identified the two senior citizens hit and killed by a truck in West El Paso Thursday.
They are 93-year-old Ben Collins and his wife, 86-year-old Mary Gene Collins.
The accident occurred at about 11:53 a.m. in the 2900 block of North Mesa.
El Paso Police say the preliminary investigation revealed they were not in a crosswalk when they were crossing the south bound lanes of North Mesa.
At the same time they were crossing Mesa, a white Ford Pickup truck driven by 71-year-old Roy Ivy was traveling southbound on Mesa and struck the two pedestrians.
Both were transported to University Medical Center (UMC), where they both died.
Police have determined that alcohol and speed were not factors in the collision.
Collins worked at Texas Western College (now UTEP) from 1946-1961, serving as the AD and head football coach his final five years.
Among his accomplishments were guiding TWC to a 6-3 record in 1957 and hiring future hall of fame coachDon Haskins.
Collins, who was an assistant coach with TWC from 1946-56, enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career as a player. He earned a spot on the Little All-American team for West Texas College in 1941 after finishing second in the nation in scoring (132) that year.
These are the 54th and 55th traffic fatalities of 2014 compared to 45 at this same time last year.
The investigation continues.
