SAN ANTONIO – A 27-year-old man who was driving a car at the time of a deadly crash on the city’s West Side was intoxicated and speeding, according to San Antonio police.
Officers immediately conducted a sobriety test on that man after officers chased him down when he tried to run from the scene, a police report says.
RELATED: Passenger killed, driver facing charges after overnight crash on West Side
The driver, whose name has not been released yet, was taken into custody to face a charge of intoxication manslaughter.
Police say his passenger, identified as Joe Angel Palacios, 26, was pinned inside the car after the crash, which happened shortly after 12 a.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters had to cut through the metal to free him.
Palacios was taken to a hospital where he died.
A report says the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control and hit a utility pole in the 5600 block of W. Commerce.
“According to a witness, this vehicle was coming down 36th Street, making a left on Commerce and coming really fast,” said Joe Reyes, who was sleeping at his home nearby.
Reyes woke up to the commotion later, not really sure at first what was happening.
“I saw the flashing lights in the window and I was wondering what it was,” he said. “The car was, pretty much, just cut in half.”
The impact split the utility pole in two.
Crews with CPS Energy spent hours making repairs and replacing the damaged pole.