The Edinburg Police Department is investigating two separate crashes that happened early Saturday morning that resulted in a total of five hospitalizations and one death.

The first crash happened near the 3100 block of East Mile 19 where police responded to a major vehicle accident at around 2:30 a.m. When officers arrived at the scene of the one vehicle crash, they saw a Chevy Colorado pickup truck upside down. Its driver was ejected from the vehicle, according to a news release. 

“During the course of the investigation, officers learned the driver of the truck, now identified as 38-year-old Gabriel Tijerina, was speeding on Mile 19 Rd when the road came to a dead end,” the news release stated. “Tijerina hit a mound of dirt and a tree at the end of the road causing his truck to flip over. Tijerina was ejected from the truck, it is believed that he was not wearing a seatbelt.”

Tijerina died from his injuries at the scene, the news release stated.

Later that morning, officers were called to the 2800 block of East Monte Cristo Road in reference to a major three vehicle wreck.

At the scene, officers learned that an unidentified 17-year-old male driver of a Ford Fusion was driving westbound on the eastbound lanes of Monte Cristo Road. 

“The wrong way driver crashed head-on into a Ford F-150 pick-up truck. The wrong-way driver collided with a second vehicle, a Dodge Caravan, causing the driver of the Dodge Caravan to crash into a fence nearby,” the news release stated. 

“The 17-year-old driving the Ford Fusion was taken to DHR and is in critical condition,” the news release stated. “Three injured people in the Ford pickup truck were taken to McAllen Medical. The driver of the Caravan was also taken to a local hospital to be treated.”

The accident is still under investigation and toxicology results are pending, the news release stated.