EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A hit-and-run crash at a far East El Paso intersection on Sunday has left a 33-year-old motorcyclist dead, and an 18-year-old driver arrested in connection with the death.
According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched at 9:41 p.m. on May 24 to the intersection of Montana Avenue and Buntline Drive for a hit-and-run motorcycle crash.
When police arrived, deputies found that the crash had left a motorcyclist with serious injuries and requested assistance from the Sheriff’s Office Special Traffic Investigators, who took over the investigation.
Investigators said the motorcyclist was traveling eastbound on Montana Avenue while a passenger vehicle was traveling westbound.
According to the sheriff’s office, the passenger vehicle attempted to make a left turn onto Buntline Drive and failed to yield the right of way to the motorcycle, causing a collision.
Investigators said the passenger vehicle then fled the scene.
The motorcycle rider was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. He was identified as 33-year-old Fernando Villa of El Paso, and a next of kin has been notified.
Special Traffic Investigators, with assistance from the Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit, later located the passenger vehicle and identified the driver as 18-year-old Jose Orlando Ruiz Rodriguez.
He was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility and charged with one count of Accident Involving Death, with a $100,000 bond, and Tampering with Evidence, with a $10,000 bond.
According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation remains ongoing.
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