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4 killed while changing flat tire on I-20 in Mesquite

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Published  January 1, 2025 9:39am CST
Mesquite
FOX 4

Overnight crash kills 4 in Kaufman County

A terrible crash on Interstate 20 near FM 741 in Mesquite left four people dead overnight.

The Brief

    • Four people were helping to change a tire on an SUV alongside I-20 in Mesquite overnight.
    • Another driver ran off the road, hitting them and their SUV. All four people died at the scene.
    • The driver who hit them, Basilio Mares Ortiz, is now charged with intoxication manslaughter.

MESQUITE, Texas - A terrible overnight crash left four people dead in Kaufman County.

The fatal crash happened around 2 a.m. on Interstate 20 near FM 741 in Mesquite.

Police said an SUV had pulled over on the side of the interstate because of a flat tire.

Four people were outside the vehicle helping to change the tire when another driver hit them.

That driver, identified as 35-year-old Basilio Mares Ortiz, then left the roadway and drove into a ditch.

Basilio Mares Ortiz (Mesquite PD)

The four people in the disabled SUV died at the scene.

They've been identified as 47-year-old Arturo Martinez Gonzalez, 19-year-old Anthony Hernandez, 19-year-old Mario Guajardo De La Paz, and a 15-year-old male. All were from Terrell.

Police detained Ortiz and charged him with four counts of intoxication manslaughter.

The Source

  • The information in this story comes from the Mesquite Police Department.

MesquiteKaufman CountyTrafficCrime and Public Safety