Two people are dead after a speeding SUV slammed into a utility pole on San Antonio's Southwest Side early Saturday morning, just after midnight near the 1000 block of Quintana Road. Police say both the driver and another person inside the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators have not been able to identify either victim.
According to WOAI, police say a white SUV was heading northbound at a high rate of speed just after midnight when the driver lost control and struck the pole. Officers pronounced both the driver and the other occupant dead at the scene, and no positive identification for either person was available as of the report.
No Identities Released Yet
As of the station's report, police had not released the names, ages, or any other identifying information about the two people who died. The circumstances that led the driver to lose control, including whether any mechanical, environmental, or other factors played a role, have not been detailed in what has been made public so far.
The crash comes a little under two months after a separate deadly wreck on the city's North Side. Per KSAT, two people died early that Wednesday morning after a speeding vehicle struck another car, left the roadway, hit a median, and rolled down an embankment several times near the 6100 block of Northwest Loop 1604 close to Culebra Road. Those two victims also had not been identified at the scene, and the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office was expected to determine their identities and official causes of death, the outlet noted.
A Pattern of High-Speed Wrecks
San Antonio has seen other high-speed crashes involving utility poles in recent months. A February crash report described by KENS 5 said a vehicle was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed while taking an exit near downtown when the driver lost control and slammed into a utility pole.
Speed has been a persistent factor in fatal crashes across the San Antonio area in recent years. Data compiled by San Antonio Report shows speed-related traffic fatalities in the region rose 5.5% in 2022, even as the overall number of speed-related crashes dipped from 8,158 in 2021 to 7,996 in 2022, a 2.8% decline. In 2022, 10,945 crashes involving speeding were connected to 115 deaths and 446 serious injuries, according to the same report.
Police have not said what led the driver on Quintana Road to lose control before hitting the pole, and no further details about the crash have been released. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
