South Texas Man Dies After Van Crashes into the Side of a Mountain on I-10 Near Ozona

OZONA, TX – A man from a border town outside of McAllen was killed in a car crash in the Concho Valley on Tuesday.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, on Jan 3 at 9:04 p.m., troopers with the Texas DPS were dispatched to I-10, about three miles east of Ozona, for the report of a major crash.

When the crew arrived to the scene, the troopers discovered a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander that had crashed into roadcut. The vehicle only had one person inside of it.

The driver, who was pronounced dead on scene by Justice of the peace Evelyn Kerbow, has been identified as 44-year-old Erasmo Garcia-Cienega of Sullivan City. 

The troopers preliminary investigation revealed that the Uplander was traveling eastbound on I-10 when it traveled to the left off the roadway and into the median. The driver over corrected to the right, traveled back across the eastbound roadway, through an exit ramp, the barrow ditch and impacted a roadcut. The Uplander came to an immediate upright stop facing south.

At the time of the crash the weather conditions were clear and the road conditions were dry. Troopers have confirmed that the man was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The speed limit at this location is posted at 80 mph.