One dead in Lajitas crash

Injured woman taken to MCH in Odessa

September 27, 2008 - 7:46 PM

LAJITAS One passenger was killed and another seriously injured in an early Saturday wreck west of Lajitas, an official with the Department of Public Safety said.

Courtney Vancleave, 22, was found dead inside a 2005 Ford Escape driven by Jlee Boatright, 21, Police Communications Operator Ron Dawley from the Texas Department of Public Safety's Pecos office said. Boatright was taken to a hospital in Alpine.

From there, she was since taken to the Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, where a nursing supervisor listed her in serious condition at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

According to the DPS report, Vancleave was driving west on FM 170 at approximately 1:30 a.m. Saturday when she went off the south side of the road, went airborne and hit an embarkment.

The vehicle was there until two pedestrians found it at 7:30 a.m., according to the report. It was not known if Boatright was conscious or if she tried to call for help before then.

Both Vancleave and Boatright were wearing seatbelts.