Woman dies in 5-vehicle chain-reaction collision on Interstate 10 in East El Paso

A 27-year-old woman died in a chain-reaction collision early Sunday on Interstate 10 near The Fountains at Farah shopping center, El Paso police said.

The five-vehicle pileup, including a pickup that rolled over, occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on I-10 West, police said. Police had initially said six vehicles were involved.

Police identified the woman who died as Kandy Abigail Duarte-Cassiano, of the 100 block of Encino Drive in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

Duarte-Cassiano was driving a 2017 Nissan Sentra that was T-boned by a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup in the chain-reaction wreck, police said.

Chain-reaction wreck on I-10

The incident began when a 24-year-old woman driving a 2007 Ford Focus for unknown reasons veered and crashed into a concrete barrier on the freeway, police said.

The Focus came to a stop on the traffic lanes of the freeway.

A  2007 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Rubina Galvan, 31, of Chaparral, New Mexico, stopped on the highway after coming up on the crashed car, police said. There were three male passengers, ages 28, 34 and 49, in Galvan's truck.

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A 29-year old woman driving a 2018 Honda Civic didn't stop and rear-ended the Silverado, causing it to roll over, police said. There was a 26-year-old female passenger in the Civic.

Duarte-Cassiano, who was driving the Nissan Sentra, then crashed into the other vehicles, police said.

A 2015 Chevrolet Silverado driven by a 21-year-old man then T-boned the Sentra in a crash that killed Duarte-Cassiano. A 18-year-old woman was a passenger in the Silverado.

The names of the other drivers and passengers had not been released by police. Three other people were transported to hospitals with undisclosed injuries, police said.

Investigation continues

The westbound lanes of the freeway were opened at about 11 a.m. Sunday after the crash investigation scene was cleared.

An investigation by the Special Traffic Investigations Unit continues and charges are possible, police officials said.

There have been 49 traffic-related deaths this year, compared with 52 at this time last year, according to Police Department figures.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

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