Seven die, three hurt in Downtown El Paso crash fleeing Border Patrol

Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times
Published 10:59 a.m. MT June 25, 2020 | Updated 3:20 p.m. MT June 25, 2020

Seven people died after a car fleeing the U.S. Border Patrol crashed early Thursday morning in Downtown El Paso.

The crash was one of the deadliest in recent El Paso memory.

The deadly wreck occurred at 2:17 a.m. on West Paisano Drive by West San Antonio Avenue near Union Depot.

El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez said there were 10 people in a gray Chevrolet Cruze.

Border Patrol agents had attempted to stop the car before it drove off, the agency said.

The car was eastbound on Paisano Drive when it failed to negotiate a curve in the road, crossed the center median and crashed into a parked trailer used for storage at a business, Gomez said.

Three people were hospitalized in stable condition and seven died, Gomez said.

The El Paso County medical examiner is working with police to identify the dead.

“It’s a bad accident,” Gomez said.

Beyond crime-scene tape, a woman, who may be the mother of a person in the car, kept crying out, "Mi hija" (my daughter) as a man hugged and tried to console her.

Tire tracks could be seen going straight at the point where West Paisano Drive curves next to the Union Depot

The tracks ran over a small gravel median, crossing the westbound lanes, through a chain-link fence before hitting a trailer on the side of the Wicker Tire and Rubber Co.

In an emailed statement, the Border Patrol said: "U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Santa Teresa and El Paso Stations attempted to stop a vehicle. The vehicle fled and was subsequently involved in a motor vehicle accident with multiple fatalities.

"At this time, the U.S. Border Patrol is cooperating with the active investigation, which is being led by the El Paso Police Department. The incident is also under review by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility."

The car, which was torn into two, was carried away by a pair of tow trucks. The front of the four-door car was crushed.

Bodies were removed Thursday morning and West Paisano Drive remained closed until about 11:45 a.m. by Durango Street in Union Plaza.

West Paisano Drive runs next to the Rio Grande, west of Downtown El Paso.

It had not been disclosed if the car may have been carrying undocumented immigrants. Gomes said that investigators were working to identify the deceased and notify their families.

It is not uncommon for smugglers to cram a vehicle with migrants who have just crossed the border and are being transported to a stash house or other location.

2nd Border Patrol fatal crash

The crash Thursday was the second fatal crash involving a vehicle fleeing Border Patrol on the same stretch of roadway this year.

In January, a 30-year-old man from Ecuador was killed when a Ford Explorer fleeing from Border Patrol crashed in the 400 block of West Paisano Drive.

Authorities said a chase began when Border Patrol agents saw four Ecuadoran migrants loaded into a Ford Explorer. The driver sped away as agents drove toward the vehicle.

During the chase, the driver lost control on a curve by Durango Street, causing the SUV to roll and hit a light pole and a tree. One migrant was killed and three injured.

The driver, Daniel Humberto Castillo-Nuñez, 35, of Chaparral, New Mexico, was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge and an accident involving death charge for allegedly running from the crash.

Five killed in 2002

In 2002, West Paisano Drive was the site of an accident that killed five women in a head-on collision near Ruhlen Court by the now-gone Asarco site.

The crash killed El Paso school principal Mitzi Bond and Juárez residents Rosario Flores Hernandez, 50; Beatrice Lopez Veloz, 44; Estela Rueda Martinez, 47; and Flores' daughter-in-law, Ana Suarez Quiñonez, 30, according to El Paso Times archives.

The '02 crash spurred barriers and other safety improvement on the roadway.

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/el-paso/2020/06/25/seven-die-three-hurt-in-downtown-el-paso-crash-during-border-patrol-chase/3257704001/