Residents say railing would have prevented drowning

Residents in a Northeast El Paso neighborhood are still reeling from Monday’s tragedy.

Sixty-four year-old Constance Manzanares was swept into a drainage canal in her car, and drowned. It happened along Diana Street at Vulcan Drive.

On Tuesday ABC-7 went went back out to the scene of the drowning. Several concerned residents approached ABC-7 and said they were certain the tragedy could have been prevented.

“I was here, I was here,” said Northeast resident Leticia Carrillo, who was still horrified by what she witnessed. “They tried to get her out, but all the water was coming from side and the door.”

Where Manzanares’s car ended up in the canal, her license plate was still sitting. Across the way, there was a railing that would prevent a car from falling into the canal, but over on the other side, no railing and not even a curb at the spot where it appears her car fell into the canal.

“(I would like to see it fixed) like right now, before something else occurs,” Carrillo added.

Further down Diana, ABC-7 noticed that the areas of the canal that did not have a curb had at least a metal guardrail, but not where the incident occurred. That left ABC-7 asking residents of the area if the drowning would have happened Monday if there had been a railing there?

“No,” replied Tony Parra, who has lived on Vulcan Drive for more than 30 years. “The most thing that would of happened is she would have hit that guardrail and the car would of got stuck, but she could have at least walked off, trailing the two feet of water or stayed there. She wouldn’t have fallen in. (A railing) would have saved her life.”

John Balliew, president of EPWU, said the utility is waiting for El Paso Police to finish their investigation, which he will review.

Balliew added: “EPWU inherited the Diana canal in its current condition from the city in 2008 when the Stormwater utility was created, so we also need to research the design and any past improvements that were made to the canal. Then, we will consult with the City of El Paso on what the next steps might be for possible improvements.”

Carrillo also questioned the emergency response, telling ABC-7 there were people who wanted to jump in and rescue Manzanares, but they were not allowed to. A El Paso Fire Department spokesman said they are still gathering information about the incident.

Northeast El Paso City Rep. Carl Robinson said he will address the safety of the canal with EPWU and the City of El Paso Streets Department.