EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A friend and coworker of 48-year-old Alejandro Rodriguez, the man killed over the weekend while riding his motorcycle on I-10 in Far-East El Paso, said he was a huge advocate for motorcycle safety.
“He always had his gear. He had his pants. He had his helmet, and then he had his camera, the 360 camera. He would never ride that motorcycle without that camera. So, that camera has whatever evidence there is of the crash,” said Victor Alvarez, a former friend and coworker of Rodriguez.
Preliminary information revealed that Rodriguez was traveling on I-10 when another vehicle rear-ended him, causing him to be thrown from his motorcycle early Sunday morning, Aug. 31.
While Rodriguez was big on motorcycle safety, he often said there was a lack of consideration for motorcyclists on El Paso roads, and worried for his own safety, as stated by Alvarez.
“But he would tell me, ‘Ed, these drivers, they don’t respect motorcycles, you know, everybody’s going around cutting them off,’” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said he is still struggling to comprehend that he won’t be seeing his friend anymore and won’t be able to tell him to drive safely at the end of their work shift.
“That was a thing for me just to tell him, ‘Alex. Be careful, all right? Be safe. I want to see you here tomorrow. And the day came when I didn’t,’” Alvarez said.
He and Rodriguez worked together for about three years as passenger assistants at the El Paso International Airport. Their job was to hustle from gate to gate to help people with disabilities to and from their flights. He said the job required urgency, but most importantly, charisma and the ability to connect with people.
All that came easy to Rodriguez, his “go-to guy,” Alvarez said.
“We would team up and if I needed help, that was my go-to guy right there. He was the go-to guy everywhere. At his home and here at work,” Alvarez said. “He had charisma. Because when you know how to treat a person, that person with a disability is going to be wowed and thank you. And Alex had that.”
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