Two men charged with felonies after fatal I-55 crash

Cape Girardeau police arrested two men after they were involved a collision that killed an Altenburg, Missouri, man about 5:30 a.m. on southbound Interstate 55 near mile marker 100.8.

Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Chris Limbaugh charged Marcelino L. Cruz, 24, with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident and felony tampering with physical evidence.

Samuel C. Salinas, 17, a passenger in the 2008 Dodge Avenger with Illinois plates that Cruz was driving, was charged with felony tampering with physical evidence.

According to Limbaugh, Cruz and Salinas are living in the country illegally.

Carl Wayne Black, 59, of Altenburg was driving a 1991 Geo Tracker south on I-55 when Cruz’s vehicle failed to stay in one lane, according to a probable-cause statement filed by Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Jason Jurgens.

Black’s vehicle spun off the right side of the roadway and appeared to overturn several times, Jurgens wrote. Although he wore a seatbelt, Black was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a fatal injury, according to the statement.

Cruz’s vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway. Cruz and Salinas then tried to throw beer cans out of the vehicle after coming to a stop, Jurgens wrote. They did not try to give aid to Black, according to the statement.

They got out of the vehicle and walked south along the interstate but were stopped by a Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputy, Jurgens wrote.

A witness identified Cruz as the driver of the Dodge Avenger, according to the statement.

Cape Girardeau police officer Ryan Droege noted Cruz had watery bloodshot eyes, swayed where he stood, and his breath smelled of alcohol, Jurgens wrote.

Cruz was arrested, his breath was tested at the police station, and his blood-alcohol content was shown to be 0.159, according to the statement. The legal limit is 0.08.

Cruz said he was drinking Modelo beer earlier, according to the statement. Modelo beer cans were found in and around the Dodge Avenger, Jurgens wrote.

Salina said he tried to throw the cans out of the car and walk away because police were arriving on the scene, according to the statement.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: Mile marker 100.8 I-55, Cape Girardeau, MO.