Police: Drunk driver hit stop sign, which then fatally wounded pedestrian
Police say a man driving drunk crashed into a stop sign at Mississippi and Stanton, causing the sign to fatally wound a pedestrian.
The deadly wreck happened shortly before 2 am Wednesday in West El Paso.
26-year old Lorenzo Anchondo, of Sunland Park, New Mexico, is charged with Intoxication Manslaughter. Jail records show he is out on bond.
Police said Anchondo, the driver of a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche, was northbound on Stanton and made a left turn onto Mississippi.
Anchondo allegedly drove off the roadway and drove onto the sidewalk. Anchondo struck a stop sign, causing the sign to strike 33-year old Xiaoyan Shi, a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk, police said.
A complaint affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states Anchondo refused to provide a breath specimen at the scene of the crash. Police obtained a search warrant to draw a sample of Anchondo’s blood.
Shi sustained “a major head injury as a result of being struck by the sign and died at the scene,” police said.
A Go Fund Me account set up to help Shi’s family pay for funeral expenses states she “leaves behind her 4 year year old daughter, her parents and her husband.”
Her Facebook account states she immigrated to the U.S. from China. The account states Shi worked as a Nurse at Del Sol Medical Center. The hospital declined to confirm employment.
Police said Anchondo showed signs of intoxication and was placed under arrest.
Anchondo was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a $75,000 bond.
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