What started as a routine flat tire on Interstate 10 turned into a deadly roadside disaster on the evening of Dec. 16, 2023, when a Ford Mustang shot into the center median and slammed into a parked car and the people trying to help. One of them, 38-year-old Perla Vasquez, died at the scene. Two others suffered serious leg injuries. The crash, which happened around 7:35 p.m. near the Porfirio Diaz overpass, shut down eastbound lanes for hours.
What investigators say
According to Special Traffic Investigators, the chain of events began when a 2013 Dodge Charger with a flat tire pulled onto the center median, and relatives got out to help. A Mustang then entered the median, hit the Charger and several pedestrians, and kept going until it struck a Volkswagen Jetta and finally stopped near the Porfirio Diaz overpass, according to the El Paso Police Department. Investigators say the Mustang’s driver abandoned the car and ran off on foot. City officials noted it was El Paso’s 76th traffic fatality of 2023.
Victims and family
Local coverage identified the woman killed as 38-year-old Perla Vasquez of Clint and reported that two relatives, 21-year-old Saúl Sigala Jr. and 15-year-old Donovan Sigala, were hospitalized with serious leg injuries. KTSM reported that Sigala Jr. is affiliated with the Socorro Police Department and that Vasquez was his mother.
Arrest and charges
Months later, police announced they had made an arrest. An update from the El Paso Police Department states that 21-year-old Richard Nunez was taken into custody on Aug. 5, 2024, and booked into the county detention facility on one count of collision involving death and two counts of collision involving serious bodily injury, with bond amounts listed in the report.
Court scheduling
Court records cited in local reporting showed that Nunez was scheduled for trial on Aug. 6, 2025, according to coverage that tracked the case through the county docket. KVIA noted the planned trial date, although public reporting available online does not include a widely reported final verdict from that date.
Why the story is resurfacing
The crash, first reported in December 2023 and updated after the 2024 arrest, has resurfaced in various roundup and recap pieces. That includes a June 24 write-up on an injury-law blog that revisited the original collision and the later developments. Injury Relief published a synopsis of the crash and its aftermath.
How to help investigators
Police have repeatedly urged anyone with information, dashcam footage, or cellphone video from that night to contact the El Paso non-emergency line or Crime Stoppers. Local reporting listing those tip lines put the numbers at 915-832-4400 and Crime Stoppers at 915-566-8477, according to KTSM.
The loss of Vasquez and the injuries to her relatives left her family and the wider East El Paso community confronting yet another fatal crash that started with something as ordinary as a flat tire. As the case moves through the courts, police continue to ask anyone who knows more about what happened that night to come forward.
