Student dies in accident

Odessa High principal Ron Leach said there'll be counselors on hand today to help students deal with the death of senior Joseph Salazar.

Salazar, a member of the OHS varsity cross-country team, was killed Monday in a motorcycle accident in the parking lot at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin softball park.

Monday was Salazar’s 18th birthday.

The cross-country team was at UTPB practicing for The Odessa Invitational which will be held this Thursday at UTPB.

Leach said he and counselors spent Monday evening talking to some of the members of the cross-country team.

“We talked about what a neat kid he was,” Leach said. “He had lots of friends, which is very evident by this response of support.”

Student Assistance Services will also be on campus today speaking to students. The SSA is a group of counselors who primarily deal with crisis counseling.

“The cross-country team is a group of boys and girls, that are very close with each other,” Leach said. “We’re pretty fortunate that they have each other to count on to help pull through this.”

Carl Rogers, Ector County medical investigator, said Salazar died from traumatic head injuries.

Odessa police Cpl. Jamie Brown said Salazar was riding the motorcycle south in the parking lot of UTPB Park. A green Honda Civic was also headed south when it turned right into a parking space.

That’s when the two vehicles collided.

“When the officers arrived they found a 2007 Suzuki had been laid over and was on fire and a four door Honda Civic was damaged,” Brown said.

The driver of the Honda was 16-year-old Ryan Herrera.

“It appears the male driver of the motorcycle laid the motorcycle over to avoid striking the vehicle,” Brown said. “The driver of the motorcycle may have struck his head on the pavement and received, at that time, serious injuries.”

Salazar was taken to Medical Center Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Monica Tavarez was jogging at the park when, she said, she witnessed the accident.

“I saw a big puff of smoke and noticed the motorcycle was on fire,” Tavarez said.

Bowie Junior High ninth-grader, Nichole Davidson was at the park’s golfing range when, she said, she witnessed the wreck from afar.

“We heard the crash, and we saw the guy fly off the bike,” Davidson said. “We saw it catch fire, and someone pulling him away from the fire.

Brown said there was a helmet at the scene of the accident, but didn't know whether Salazar was wearing the helmet.

“We don’t think he was doing any kind of wheelies or tricks. He was just traveling a little faster than he should have and what most motorcyclists do if a vehicle turns in front of him, you lay it down to try to prevent serious injury,” Brown said. “Sometimes, you do get injured.”