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Accused El Paso drunk, wrong-way driver charged in deaths of 6-year-old Las Cruces boy and his mother

Juan_Martinez
EPPD
Juan Martinez faces two counts of intoxication manslaughter,

EL PASO, Texas -- Court documents show that 73-year-old Juan Martinez was booked into El Paso County jail Tuesday on two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault.

Martinez is accused of driving drunk and getting on Loop 375 in the wrong direction before causing a crash that killed a 6-year-old Las Cruces boy and his mother, 25-year-old Elide Yvonne Garcia. The boy was identified as Jose Luis Wences.

Garcia's boyfriend, Alberto Cuellar, was also critically injured in the crash.

The crash happened around 8 p.m. on December 7 along Loop 375 west near Bowie.

Martinez wasn't booked immediately because he taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries he suffered in the crash.

"My mom was waiting for them," Jessica Garcia, Elide's sister, said. "They didn't make it back home. They were supposed to come back home."

Martinez was booked the same day as the Las Cruces community gathered to remember the two victims.

Article Topic Follows: ABC-7 Alert Center

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Trisha Garcia

Trisha Garcia is an ABC-7 producer.

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