Joel Velazquez ID’s As Driver In Fatal Hit-And-Run That Killed El Paso Teacher Amanda Weyant

EL PASO, TX. (THECOUNT) — Joel Velazquez has been arrested over an accident involving the Thanksgiving day hit-and-run death of Eastwood Heights Elementary teacher, Amanda Weyant, of Ferguson, El Paso Police said.

Special traffic investigators arrested and charged 24-year old Velazquez and booked him into the El Paso County Detention Facility with a bond of $150,000.

Friday, police identified Weyant, 28, as the pedestrian killed by the alleged hit-and-run driver.

Police said Velasquez struck and killed Weyant at 1:45 a.m. on November 22, 2018 at N Mesa St & Cincinnati Ave, in El Paso, TX, police said. Weyant was using a crosswalk when she was struck, police said.

The vehicle suspected of striking Weyant, a 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier, was abandoned farther east on the 1300 block of Cincinnati, police said. The vehicle had damage to its hood and a shattered windshield. Investigators dusted the vehicle for fingerprints. source

A longtime family friend of Weyant told reporters that Weyant was a sixth grade teacher at Eastwood Heights Elementary. The Ysleta Independent School District confirmed Weymant had been with the district five years.

A district spokesperson said grief counselors will be on site at Eastwood Heights to help students, faculty and staff cope with the tragic death.

Anyone with possible information on the case may contact police at 911.