El Paso driver told deputy he was drinking prior to wrong-way I-10 crash that killed 1, hurt 6

UPDATE, Aug. 4: The man charged in a deadly head-on car collision in far east El Paso told investigators he had been drinking at home and at a quinceneara prior to the crash, according to court documents obtained by ABC-7.

Authorities allege Mario Ernesto Martel was driving eastbound along the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 near Tornillo last Sunday when he crashed into another vehicle carrying seven people, including five children.

The driver of that other vehicle, 33-year-old Mayvel Alexandra Morales, was killed.

According to an arrest affidavit, Martel told an El Paso County Sheriff's deputy that he had a couple of drinks at the quinceneara he had attend, but described it as "nothing major."

Martel remains jailed on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.

ORIGINAL REPORT, Aug. 2: EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man accused of being intoxicated while driving the wrong way along Interstate 10 has been charged for causing a crash that led to one death and a half-dozen injuries, El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies said Monday.

That crash happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday on I-10 at mile-marker 55.

Mario Ernesto Martel was being held in the El Paso County Jail on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.

Investigators said his car ran head-on into another vehicle, killing the 33-year-old driver who was identified as Mayvel Alexandra Morales. Deputies indicated she died shortly after the crash at Del Sol Medical Center.

Six others who were injured in the collision were being treated at Del Sol and El Paso Children’s Hospital.

Deputies said Martel "showed signs of intoxication" and was arrested at the crash site.