A 20-year-old man is accused of driving while intoxicated in a crash that injured five teenagers when an off-road vehicle rolled over on a street near Horizon City, El Paso County sheriff's officials said.
Jorge Alberto Gomez Alvarez was arrested on two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle after two of the five passengers were hospitalized with serious injuries, sheriff's spokeswoman Priscilla I. Contreras said in a news release.
The seriously injured teens were 15 and 16 years old. Their names were not disclosed.
Gomez remains held at the El Paso County jail in Downtown under a total bond of $10,000 as of Monday, Aug. 31. No attorney is listed for him in court
records.
The Sheriff's Office reported that Gomez was driving a black Can-Am Maverick off-road vehicle carrying five teens, all ages 15 to 16, about 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, on public streets in an area off Ascension Street and Horizon Boulevard.
Gomez was westbound in the 14900 block of Mandeville Avenue near Ponchatoula Street when he lost control and the Can-Am rolled several times, the Sheriff's Office stated.
Gomez was arrested as part of an investigation by the sheriff's Special Traffic Investigators.
'Driving while intoxicated puts everyone at risk'
The crash occurred on a "Saturation Saturday" when law enforcement agencies across El Paso County had extra officers looking for drunken drivers as part of an increase in anti-DWI patrols timed for the upcoming Labor Day holiday.
"This crash is another reminder of the serious consequences that can result from mixing alcohol, unsafe driving, and off-road vehicles on public roadways," Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said in a statement. "These vehicles are not permitted on public roadways, and driving while intoxicated puts everyone at risk. Five young people were injured, two seriously, because of decisions that could have been avoided.
"We will continue working to keep impaired drivers off our roads and hold those who endanger others accountable," Ugarte said.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Alcohol, 'unsafe driving' mix in off-road vehicle crash, sheriff says
