By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Special to the PRESS
One life is gone and another changed forever after a teenager involved in a car accident during Spring Break on the Island succumbed to his injuries Wednesday night.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Soto, a junior at Los Fresnos High School, died from injuries sustained in a DWI wreck at South Padre Island on March 15, according to Sergeant Johnny Hernandez of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Soto died at Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen, where he had been hospitalized since the accident.
The condition of a second person who was also hospitalized as a result of the wreck remained unclear as of presstime.
The accident occurred in the vicinity of Park Road 100 and Beach Access 6.
Hernandez said Thursday that 19-year-old Anthony Rojelio Rodriguez of Elsa was arrested by DPS troopers the day of the accident on two counts of intoxication assault; however, it may be a grand jury deciding whether Rodriguez’ charges will be upgraded to intoxication manslaughter.
“We first have to investigate it,” said Melissa A. Zamora, Public Information Officer for the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office. “I don’t even see it coming up in our system, which means it hasn’t gone before a grand jury. Ultimately, a grand jury will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to indict.”
In the meantime, Rodriguez remains incarcerated at Cameron County Jail on $50,000 in bail.
Los Fresnos CISD Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar has issued a statement regarding Soto’s death, which reads, “We are a tight-knit community in Los Fresnos. We grieve together and we celebrate together. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family in these difficult times.”
Read this story in the March 28 edition of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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