Officials release name of fatality victim
Published 12:00 am Monday, June 30, 2008
The Selma Times-Journal
Marcelino Martinez sits in the Lowndes County Jail charged with vehicular manslaughter.
Martinez, 19, was the driver of the 1999 Hyundai Elantra involved in a one-car accident Sunday night that took the life of one of his three passengers, Felipe Ramon-Vazquez.
The wreck happened at 7:40 p.m. on U.S. Highway 80 East about five miles east of the Tyler Volunteer Fire Department. The Elantra driven by Martinez, traveling west, left the road and overturned.
Martinez received medical treatment and was released from Baptist Medical Center South Hospital in Montgomery in the hours following the wreck.
The hospital did not have information on the other passengers, Pachecho Zefferino, 26, and Cuellar Alvino, 31.
Investigators also had a hard time finding proper identification for the victims.
All of them are natives of Mexico and none speak English.
Cpl. Steve Jarrett, an Alabama State trooper in Lowndes County has had to communicate with the victims and their families through two translators.
Martinez&8217;s address is listed as 500 U.S. 80 East at the Lowndes County Jail. Authorities also have a Selma address for Ramos.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation by state troopers.