EL PASO, TEXAS — El Paso city leaders announced an immediate commercial vehicle inspection and enforcement initiative on October 20, a day after a semi-truck driver reported brake failure on the steep Transmountain grade and plowed through an intersection, striking multiple vehicles in an eight-vehicle crash that killed one person and seriously injured another.
The Crash
The crash happened Monday morning, October 19, on Loop 375 at North Desert in Northwest El Paso. El Paso Police said a truck tractor pulling a semitrailer was traveling southbound on Loop 375 approaching North Desert when the driver reported brake failure and went through the intersection.
The semitrailer sideswiped a Toyota RAV4, pushing it into a Ford F-150 at South Desert. It then struck a Chevrolet Colorado, killing the driver at the scene. Police identified him as 42-year-old Rene Dario Perez-Ramirez, a West El Paso resident.
The semitrailer kept going south, striking a Ford F-350 and pushing it into a Subaru Forester. Debris from that impact hit a GMC Sierra. The F-350 driver suffered serious injuries.
Police said it was the 55th traffic fatality in El Paso this year, compared to 51 at the same point last year. The investigation is ongoing.
‘Enough is Enough’
At a Tuesday press conference, Mayor Renard Johnson and Police Chief Peter Pacillas announced that El Paso Police commercial vehicle inspectors will begin inspecting commercial-sized vehicles traveling on Transmountain Road, effective immediately.
“I will work with Chief Pacillas, the City Council, our city manager, our city attorney, and TxDOT to find ways to limit heavy truck traffic on Transmountain,” Johnson said. “I know trucks are important to our economy. They move our goods, and they support local businesses. Truck drivers also deserve safe roads, but moving goods can never be more important than protecting lives. We will look for safer routes, review state and federal rules, and identify what we can legally do to protect people. We will move quickly.”
Pacillas said the enforcement will continue until a solution is found. “What I’m asking the public to do is obey the law. And we’re going to keep this going until we can get a solution to the problem of heavy vehicles coming off of Transmountain. I’m asking for the public’s patience because there could be congestion when these officers are out there inspecting these large vehicles.”
Asked why the step is coming now, Pacillas said existing measures have not been enough. “We have tried different [things]. The signage that’s up there instructing the truck drivers what to do, the additional runaway truck ramp that they put on the west side. These initiatives are still there, and there are still people getting hurt and killed out there. So we’re stepping up the enforcement to make sure that these vehicles are safe.”
A Troubled Stretch of Road
In late August, a semi-truck crash near Desert South at Transmountain left two people hospitalized with minor injuries after the truck appeared to pass the recently opened runaway truck ramp. The area also saw an earlier crash in which a runaway semi caused a massive explosion that killed one person and injured six.
TxDOT opened the first mechanical runaway truck ramp in Texas on July 1. A TxDOT spokesperson confirmed it is fully operational but has not been used.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Information courtesy of KFOX14/CBS4.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
