By ALEXANDREA BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
According to Port Isabel Police Chief Robert Lopez, on Saturday, Nov. 9, a Laguna Vista Police Officer advised the Port Isabel Police Department [PIPD] that a white vehicle was traveling east on State Highway 100. According to Lopez, radar clocked the vehicle moving at a speed higher than 100 miles per hour.
Lopez says that PIPD officers were told not to engage the vehicle. He stated that instead, they were instructed to “position themselves in a safe manner and activate emergency lights.” According to Lopez, when the vehicle entered Port Isabel city limits, an officer stationed at the 1900 Block of State Highway 100 clocked the vehicle moving at 141 miles per hour. Shortly after, Lopez says officers observed “a flash of light.”
Officers then approached the vehicle, which had crashed into an electrical transformer at the 700 Block of W. State Highway 100.
The vehicle was identified as a white, late model Dodge Charger, matching the description provided by the
Laguna Vista Police Officer. Inside the vehicle were two individuals, Fernando Garcia, 20, of Weslaco, Texas, and Hazel Castaneda, 19, also of Weslaco, Texas. Both were pronounced dead on the scene.
Because of damage caused to the electrical transformer, portions of the city lost power for some time.
“The accident remains under investigation at this time, and no further comment will be made on a pending
investigation,” stated Lopez.
A gofundme has been set up to raise money for the family and burial of Castaneda. According to the gofundme, she leaves behind two children, a three-month-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old.
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