Crash leaves Alton woman dead, infant injured

FOR THE RECORD

EDINBURG | COLD CASE

The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office is hoping a new computer-aided facial sketch will help them identify a body found seven years ago.

The department released a new sketch Wednesday from the Texas Rangers depicting how the man, whose bones were discovered in an orchard near Mission in 2001, might have looked. Authorities are still not sure how he might have died, as the body was quickly decomposing by the time it was discovered.

The man, who authorities estimate is 45 to 60 years old and 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, wears a pensive expression in the new image. His thick bushy eyebrows highlight a sympathetic gaze while his eyelids are drawn to a sharp point.

The new skin hides a steel wire embedded in the bone circling his right eye. Authorities assume the man suffered severe trauma to the right of his face, from which he had recovered before the incident that led to is death.

Amid his remains, which were discovered Feb. 17, 2001, near the intersection of Western and Mile 13 roads, authorities found boxer shorts and a pair of blue, size-34 shorts, according to DPS news release.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office at (956) 668-8477.

EDINBURG | DRUG SEIZURES

The U.S. Border Patrol seized more than 6,000 pounds of marijuana along the Rio Grande in the last five days, including a half-ton load Tuesday, the agency announced Wednesday.

The largest bust was on July 11 when agents attempted to pull over a vehicle speeding from the river in the Havana area in western Hidalgo County. The driver abandoned the vehicle when agents pursued, leaving a ton of marijuana, according to a Border Patrol news release.

"You run into a thousand pounds and you're thinking, ‘My gosh, how much are these people moving?'" said Dan Doty, a local Border Patrol spokesman.

CITRUS CITY | FATAL CRASH

A 23-year-old Alton woman is dead and an infant boy was critically injured after a two-vehicle collision northwest of Alton late Tuesday afternoon.

A Lincoln Town Car and a Ford F-350 pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer collided about 5 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 2221 and Bentsen Palm Drive, said Trooper Johnny Hernandez of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Rosario Hernandez, 23, of Alton, was pronounced dead after she was taken to McAllen Medical Center, said Trooper Hernandez, a local agency spokesman. Rosario Hernandez was traveling with seven other people as she sat in the rear right seat of the Lincoln. She was carrying an infant boy on her lap. The baby was taken to McAllen Medical Center and was in critical condition Wednesday.

The pickup truck collided with the right side of the Lincoln as the truck traveled east on FM 2221, Hernandez said. Two other children were thrown from the car upon impact.

The driver of the southbound Lincoln - which was carrying more passengers than the number of available seat belts - appears to have failed to obey the stop sign at the intersection, Hernandez said.

The pickup truck's driver was arrested because he was driving without a valid driver's license and did not have immigration documentation, Hernandez said.

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Monitor staff writers Sean Gaffney and Jared Taylor compiled this report.