3 dead in El Paso rollover, electrical pole and pedestrian hit-and-run crashes
A deadly weekend on El Paso's streets claimed the lives of three men in separate traffic crashes, including a pedestrian killed in an unsolved hit-and-run in the Lower Valley.
The deaths over the weekend raise the total number of traffic fatalities to 15 in El Paso this year compared with 13 in the same period last year, stated a police news release on Monday, March 24.
A driver was killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, March 23, on the northbound Loop 375 by Montana Avenue, El Paso police said.
Christopher Adrian Martinez, 31, of Northeast El Paso was driving a 2014 Kia Soul when he lost control, spun off the highway and hit a metal fence pole, causing the Kia to roll and land on its passenger side, police said in a news release.
Martinez, who investigators said was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene. An investigation by the Special Traffic Investigations Unit suspects alcohol was a factor in the crash.
A 19-year-old man died when his car burst into flames after crashing into electrical poles about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, March 22, in a Northwest El Paso neighborhood, police said.
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The driver was speeding in a 2019 Volkswagen GTI heading east on Enchanted Springs Drive when he veered off the street near Northwestern Drive, a police news release stated. The driver crashed into a large rock and electrical poles, causing the car to roll and catch fire.
The man died at the scene; his name has not been released by the police Special Traffic Investigations Unit pending formal identification.
Jesus Fernando Perez, 52, of El Paso, was identified as the pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run collision on North Loop Drive next to the El Paso Community College Valle Verde campus.
At 8:40 p.m. on Friday, March 21, Perez was walking to a bus stop while crossing North Loop Drive at La Promesa Drive when he was struck by an unknown vehicle heading east on North Loop, El Paso police officials said. The vehicle left the scene.
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Perez died from his injuries at the University Medical Center of El Paso. An investigation by the STI Unit continues.
Anyone with information on the hit-and-run may call the police nonemergency line at 915-832-4400 or anonymously call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477 (TIPS).
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 3 dead in separate El Paso traffic crashes
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