http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_3957055


Article Launched: 6/20/2006 12:00 AM


ICE officer dies in I-10 crash near Sierra Blanca

Tammy Fonce-Olivas / El Paso Times
El Paso Times

A deportation officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso died Sunday in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 10 about six miles west of the Border Patrol checkpoint near Sierra Blanca, officials said.
Michelle Turner, 36, was eastbound on the right-hand lane at about 10:30 a.m. when her 2003 Toyota Sequoia crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer traveling in the same lane. She died at the scene, said Trooper David Rodriguez of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Turner was traveling with her two daughters, ages 14 and 4, to Del Rio, Texas.

Her daughters, whose names were withheld, were airlifted to Thomason Hospital. The eldest girl reported having pain in her ribs and the youngest complained about neck pain.

"My understanding is that they are both doing fine. They are just keeping them there for observation," Rodriguez said.

Robert Haynes, a DPS dispatcher, said Turner crashed into a tractor-trailer that "was having engine trouble and was trying to climb a hill, so it was going extremely slow."

DPS investigators returned Monday to the scene of the collision to get measurements to help determine what caused the accident.

Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for ICE, said Turner was a deportation officer for the agency.

"She had joined ICE deportation and removal operations four months ago. She came over from Border Patrol. She had been a senior Border Patrol agent in Del Rio," Zamarripa said.

Turner joined the Border Patrol in December 1995.

Zamarripa said the fatality "shocked" Turner's co-workers.

"Even though she had joined the detention and removal operations family a few months ago, she was well liked.

"She was described as a hard worker who came in and picked up her duties quickly. She enjoyed what she did," Zamarripa said.

Zamarripa said Turner's co-workers at ICE have set up a memorial fund, the Michelle Turner Memorial Fund, at Government Employees Credit Union.

The account number for the fund is 423427.

Funeral services for Turner are pending with Mount Carmel Funeral Home, Zamarripa said.


Tammy Fonce-Olivas may be reached at tfonce@elpasotimes.com; 546-6362.