Edinburg High School students involved in weekend crash in Alton

EDINBURG — Edinburg High School students grieved the loss of one of their own Monday, two days after the junior died in an Alton car accident.

The early Saturday morning wreck appeared to be the basis of a rumor that an Edinburg North High School student had died on the way to that school’s football playoff game in San Antonio.

Luz Martinez was a passenger in a 2005 Jeep Wrangler traveling southbound on Conway Avenue when the driver of the vehicle decided to drive off road near Mile 5 ½ Road.

They traveled for about 671 feet when the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a canal. The crash killed Martinez, a 17-year-old junior from Edinburg High School, said Alton Police Chief Enrique Sotelo.

Two other students in the vehicle, Edinburg High School juniors Santos Maldonado III and Steven Gonzalez, were taken to area hospitals. Maldonado remains in the intensive care unit at McAllen Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Dalinda Guillen.

According to Sotelo and Edinburg school district officials, Maldonado had been released from the hospital earlier, then readmitted to be treated for head trauma.

Law enforcement, school officials and the hospital did not know how Gonzalez was doing.

Police believe Gonzalez was driving the Jeep, which belonged to Maldonado.

Officers seized three small bags of marijuana, each containing less than an ounce of the drug. Two of the bags were found in the vehicle and the third was found on Martinez, Sotelo said.

Police have already begun the process of requesting medical records and having a toxicology report conducted. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the driver of the vehicle could be charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with Martinez’s death, Sotelo said.

Grief counselors were on hand at Edinburg High School Monday for students who might want to talk about the crash and the loss of a classmate, school district spokesman Gilbert Tagle wrote in an e-mail.

Counselors and social workers were meeting with each class to talk with students about the crash and quell any rumors that may have surfaced, said Dan Roma, the school’s principal.

"It’s hard," Roma said.

"It seems to happen too often."

The schools counselors will continue to help students throughout the week, and counselors from the district will be available if needed, Roma said.