On Sunday morning, January 12th, at approximately 6:59 AM, the El Paso Police Department’s Special Traffic Investigation Unit responded to a fatal crash at the intersection of Gateway North and Sean Haggerty. Preliminary information reveals that 31-year-old Cody Lewis Vaughn, driving a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, was stopped at a red light on Gateway North when his vehicle was rear-ended by 37-year-old Juan Manuel Padilla-Rivas, driving a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado.
The force of the collision pushed both vehicles into the intersection, where they struck 39-year-old Christian Jose Ramirez’s 2017 Toyota RAV4. Vaughn was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation determined that Padilla-Rivas’ failure to control speed was the primary contributing factor in the crash. This marks the third traffic fatality this year, compared to the same number at this time last year. The Special Traffic Investigation unit continues to look into the circumstances of the incident.
