NewsWest 9
An early morning crash claims the lives of three people, one of them, an 11-year-old girl.
The two-car crash happened on Interstate 20 Sunday morning off of mile marker 94 near Penwell.
NewsWest 9 spoke with family over the phone and they tell us they were coming home from a wedding reception in Pecos when the accident happened.
DPS officials said 30-year-old Yezenia Grajeda-Bautista of Odessa was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer eastbound on I-20 a little after three in the morning when she was attempting to pass a trailer in front of her.
That's when a Chevy Cavalier traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-20 slammed head on into the car.
Family members tell NewsWest 9, the Cavalier then burst into flames.
66-year-old Manuela Mata-Madrid and 11-year-old Kimberly Baeza, both of Odessa, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Cavalier, 40-year-old Juan Villalobos Serrano of Pecos was also pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, Yezenia, was taken to Medical Center Hospital. Officials tell NewsWest 9, she is in stable condition.
A five-year-old girl, who was also a passenger in the Mitsubishi, was flown to a Lubbock hospital.
Family members said she has a broken rib and a bruised lung but she's doing ok.
Family members also tell NewsWest 9, they were following each other back to Odessa after a wedding, and some of them actually witnessed the crash.
At this time, it is unknown why Serrano was driving the wrong way on the Interstate. DPS officials weren't able to say why but they are investigating.
