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A woman who died when her car was hit in a head-on collision by a car that crossed the center line in the Anthony Gap on Friday was identified Monday as the head librarian for the Gadsden Independent School District, school officials told the El Paso Times.
Martha “Marty” Ojala Mays, 61, of El Paso, was the chief librarian for the 14,000-student school district and was head librarian at Chaparral High School, officials told the Times.
“She was extremely popular among our students and faculty,” Chaparral Principal Mark Rupcich told the paper. “She was all about children. She always had kids in her heart.”
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 3500 McRae, El Paso, the Times said.
State Police responded to the two-car crash on N.M. 404 near Chaparral around 11:30 a.m. Friday, police said in a news release.
Officers who arrived on scene found a silver Toyota four-door sedan driven by Mays and a maroon Chevy sedan driven by Matthew Eychner, 45, of Chaparral, with his 10- and 12-year-old sons in the vehicle, State Police said.
Mays was pronounced dead at the scene, which Eychner and his two sons were taken to University Medical Center in El Paso for treatment.
Eychner told police that he blacked out while driving and crossed the median, striking the car driven by Mays, State Police said. Drugs or alcohol are not suspected as contributing factors.
The crash investigation was turned over to the Dona Ana County District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution, according to police.
