A 16-year-old girl died Thursday night after losing control of her car and crashing into a tree in South-Central El Paso, Texas. The single-vehicle collision happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 4000 block of East Paisano Drive, near the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The teen, an El Paso resident driving a 2006 Chrysler 300, was traveling eastbound when she lost control of the vehicle. She died at the scene from her injuries.
According to KTSM 9 News, the El Paso Police Department’s Special Traffic Investigations (STI) unit responded to the scene and is leading the investigation. The department’s preliminary findings, cited by the outlet, indicate the driver lost control before striking the tree; the exact cause remains under investigation. The crash marked the city’s 44th traffic fatality of 2026, compared to 43 at the same point last year, KTSM 9 News reported. Police have not released the teen’s name.