5 Dead In Tragic Accident

A drive through a flooded mud patch turned deadly Sunday evening for five people who apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their truck after it was half-submerged at a horse track near Pleasant Farms, sheriff and race track officials said.

Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson said in a news conference Monday afternoon that the water went up about 45 inches up to the door of the 2004 Ford F-150, blocking the exhaust pipes and allowing the engine to continue running until the cabin fogged up with fumes. Kermit resident Martha Isela Caballero, 40, was pronounced dead by the time medics arrived. Her 19-year-old daughter Gladisela C. Polanco, 42-year-old husband Lenin Polanco and Monahans residents Maurilio Hernandez, 40, and Adan V. Saucedo, 32, died after they were taken to Medical Center Hospital.

"Everybody involved in the investigation, with years of experience, have never seen anything like this. It's pretty sad," Donaldson said.

Donaldson described a scene of horror as bystanders pulled one unconscious person after another out of the truck, fumes rolling out of the windows after they smashed them to attempt to rescue the five passengers. Caballero, already dead, was left near the back of the truck while bystanders rushed the other four to the water's edge where they tried to perform CPR on them until medics arrived.

Racetrack owner Juan "J.C." Cazares said a horse race with 20 horses wrapped up at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday and people at the track were leaving. The racetrack is located on 1787 about a half mile off of Highway 385. Cazares said he made it to the track only after police were called there and that about 25 to 50 people were around at the time of the accident.

Cazares said witnesses told him the fatal accident began with a bet.

"Somebody bet him (the driver of the truck) $100 that he would not go across," Cazares said.

Donaldson said Lenin Polanco's pickup and at least one other vehicle were "mudding" after the race. He said he heard the rumors about a bet being involved but could not confirm it.

The retention bank, about 200 yards from the horse track, has been filled with water from the heavy rains over the weekend, making the pit resemble a small pond.

Donaldson said the truck went into the bank and got stuck. For the next 15 to 30 minutes, people were looking for chains to help pull the truck out, unaware that the passengers inside were dying until someone walked up to the truck and saw the driver slumped over.

Cazares said the bystander smashed out a window to get the people out of the truck and fumes rolled out of the window, which Cazares and Donaldson said they suspected was carbon monoxide.

Donaldson said he and investigators were not sure why none of the five passengers tried to shut off the truck's engine or tried to get out of the truck. It was possible the electrical windows were inoperable because the truck was flooded, he also said.

Donaldson said an official cause of death has not been determined for any of the five passengers. The five were sent to the Tarrant County medical examiner's office for autopsies Monday.

He said alcohol was found in the truck but that it is unknown if it played any part in the accident.

Meanwhile, Cazares said he is considering fencing off the bank.

Hernandez's daughter Amanda Calderon said he owned a few horses on his Monahans ranch and used to go to that race track all the time. She didn't think he was into mudding but it didn't surprise her to see him take part in it.

"He wasn't scared of anything, he was so daring," Calderon said. "It sounds like him. It sounds like something he would do."

Back in Kermit, Lenin Polanco's cousin-in-law Blanca Polanco said everything was pretty much on hold for the family while they planned the funerals for him, his wife and his daughter. She said that mudding was something the oilfield pulling unit worker did quite a bit.

"I guess that was one of the things they would do quite often," she said.

"Everybody involved in the investigation, with years of experience, have never seen anything like this. It's pretty sad."

Sheriff Mark Donaldson

Fatalities:

>>Martha Isela Caballero, 40, of Kermit.

>>Gladisela C. Polanco, 19, of Kermit.

>>Lenin Polanco, 42, of Kermit.

>>Maurilio Hernandez, 40, of Monahans.

>>Adan V. Saucedo, 32, of Monahans.

 Carbon monoxide

 >> Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that kills within minutes when a person breathes in high levels.

 >> What does it do? When there is a high level of carbon monoxide in the air, the body's red blood cells absorb the CO instead of oxygen. If enough CO is absorbed, oxygen is blocked from the body, damaging tissues and resulting in death.

 >> Symptoms: At low levels of poisoning, symptoms include shortness of breath, mild nausea and headaches. At moderate levels, severe headaches occur, along with dizziness, mental confusion and nausea. Fainting can also occur. These symptoms can cause death if they persist.

 >> In enclosed spaces, a person may lose consciousness and die.

 >> For more information on carbon monoxide poisoning and how to avoid it from home and gas appliances and vehicles, go to: www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm.