A truck driver reported his brakes failed as a semitrailer was going downhill on Transmountain Road in a deadly multi-vehicle crash in West El Paso, police officials said.
The driver of a pickup truck, Rene Dario Perez-Ramirez, 42, of West El Paso, was killed in a collision that injured nine others on Monday, Oct. 19, at the intersection of Transmountain Road and North Desert Boulevard, El Paso police spokesman Officer Adrian Cisneros stated in a news release.
The wreck occurred at 10:30 a.m. when truck driver Jose Gerardo Cazares, of Laredo, was driving a Mack tractor truck pulling a semitrailer down Transmountain Road, police said.
An investigation by the Special Traffic Investigations
Unit found that the semitrailer continued through the North Desert intersection, where it sideswiped a Toyota RAV4, pushing it into a Ford F-150 at the South Desert intersection, police said.
The semi then hit a Chevrolet Colorado — killing Perez-Ramirez — before continuing and hitting a Ford-350, which pushed it into a Subaru Forester as debris hit a GMC Sierra, police said.
Drivers, passengers in Transmountain Road crash
The El Paso Police Department identified the other drivers and passengers involved in the Transmountain Road crash. They are:
2019 Toyota RAV 4, driver, Ruben Regalado Marguez, passengers Luz Rodriguez, 62, Jorge Alvarado, 65, and Edelmira Alvarado, 66, all of Clovis, New Mexico.
1993 Ford F-150, driver, Juan Torres, 54, of Chaparral, New Mexico.
2026 Ford F-350, driver, Ellena Morales, 46, of Northeast El Paso. Suffered serious injuries.
2020 Subaru Forester, driver, Liesl Mary Carol Hypki, 44, St. Baraboo, Wisconsin.
2008 GMC Sierra, driver, Isaac Arellanes, 54, of West El Paso.
An investigation into the Transmountain collision continues, police officials said. There have been 55 traffic-related deaths in El Paso this year, compared with 51 at this period in 2025.
Transmountain Road runaway truck ramps
There are three traditional gravel runaway truck ramps and one mechanical ramp on Transmountain Road. One gravel ramp is on the westbound lanes and two are on the eastbound lanes, the Texas Department of Transportation said.
TxDOT announced the opening of the state's first mechanical runaway truck ramp on Transmountain Road in July. It is set up for vehicles that lose their brakes closer to I-10 on the left westbound lane of the mountain highway.
The mechanical system was designed to safely stop a 90,000-pound truck traveling 90 mph with a series of eight energy-absorbing net stations bolted into reinforced concrete walls, TxDOT stated.
Similar systems are in use in Nevada, Wyoming and Utah, as well as Canada and France, and are typically constructed on mountainsides, TxDOT added.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Brake failure cited in deadly Transmountain semi crash in El Paso
