El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — A suspected drunken driver died Sunday evening after being handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a police car following a crash.
The death was under investigation by detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit and Internal Affairs, along with traffic investigators, police spokesman Detective Mike Baranyay said.
Internal Affairs is investigating because the 50-year-old man died while in police custody. The name of the man was not released pending notification of his family. The cause of death was under investigation.
The incident began just after 4 p.m. when a pickup crashed through small wooden poles on a curb before hitting a brick wall and a tree at Hunter and Yuma drives in the Ranchland area of the Lower Valley, Baranyay said. A passenger in the truck apparently left the scene.
When police arrived, the driver was talking, refused medical attention and even signed a waiver for paramedics, Baranyay said. The driver appeared to be drunk but refused to do a field sobriety test for police. He was then handcuffed and put in the back seat of a patrol car.
A police officer later noticed the man was having trouble breathing and was not responding to questions. An ambulance was called again, and the man was taken to Del Sol Medical Center where he died.
Copyright 2010 El Paso Times