EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A teenager is behind bars after police say he was drunk and crashed into a rock wall, killing his front-seat passenger early Saturday morning, Jan. 27 in the Lower Valley.
Nathan Rudy Rodriguez, 18, is charged with one count of intoxication manslaughter in the death of Jesus Manuel Ceniceros, 19.
According to court documents, the crash happened around 2:40 a.m. at the intersection of Marne Drive and Carlotta Drive.
Police claim Rodriguez was driving in a 2012 Honda Civic at a high speed south on Carlotta and crashed into a rock wall, catching fire and killing Ceniceros.
Police asked Rodriguez where he was coming from and he said he was coming from a friend’s house and that he’d asked Ceniceros to drive his car because Ceniceros claimed he was ‘fine to drive’ and it was just minutes to Rodriguez’s house.
Witnesses, however, identified Rodriguez as the vehicle’s driver and Ceniceros as the passenger. Rodriguez allegedly had bruising and redness on his chest and collarbone, indicating he’d been wearing a seatbelt in the driver’s seat position.
A friend of the pair allegedly told police they were drinking and Rodriguez left the home, but the friend worried Rodriguez was too drunk to drive and followed them.
They reportedly saw Rodriguez slam into the rock wall and when the friend went to check on them, they saw Ceniceros partially under the dashboard and Rodriguez still in the driver’s seat.
The friend called 911 just as the car began to catch fire. He then pulled Ceniceros out of the car to perform CPR, according to court documents.
The friend allegedly told police as he was attempting to perform CPR to Ceniceros, Rodriguez ended the call with 911 and he was forced to pull the phone back and dial 911 again to get instructions on how to perform CPR.
Officers conducted a field sobriety check and said Rodriguez failed. After being transported to the Mission Valley Regional Command Center, Rodriguez submitted a breathalyzer test showing results of 0.17 and 0.15, according to court documents.
Rodriguez was booked into the El Paso County Detention Center on a $150,000 bond. According to court documents, Ceniceros would have turned 20 years old on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
There’s currently a GoFundMe to cover Ceniceros’ funeral costs, ran by his mother.
GoFundMe for Jesus Ceniceros’ funeral
We are currently working on gathering Rodriguez’ mugshot.
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