UPDATE: EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A 26-year-old El Paso woman has been arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter after a fatal crash early Saturday morning, Aug. 26 in the Lower Valley, El Paso Police said.
The crash happened shortly before 1 a.m. at Loop 375 East at Zaragoza.
Police say that Cassandra Yolanda Hernandez was traveling east along Loop 375 at a “high rate of speed” and was following behind a second vehicle.
Hernandez rear-ended the second vehicle, causing that vehicle to hit the guard rail, roll over and collide with a metal pole, police said.
A passenger in the second vehicle, 40-year-old Alondra Soriano Rojas of San Elizario, died at the scene, police say. The driver of the second vehicle, 37-year-old Dulce Rivera Soriano, and another passenger, 34-year-old Paloma Soriano, were both taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.
After the crash, Hernandez’s car spun out and subsequently caught fire, police said. Police suspected that Hernandez was intoxicated and she was charged with intoxication manslaughter and booked into El Paso County Jail.
Alcohol and speed are believed to be the contributing factors in the crash, police say.
This is the 52 traffic fatality in El Paso this year, compared to 46 at this time last year.
