Investigators say a damaged Honda Civic found near the scene helped them identify the man now charged in Tony Vasquez’s death.

IRVING, Texas — A piece of a vehicle’s bumper left on a residential street helped Irving police trace a fatal hit-and-run to a nearby black Honda Civic after a motorized scooter rider was struck twice, according to police and an arrest affidavit reported by North Texas news organizations.

The investigation began shortly before 3 a.m. June 19 near Cantrell Street and Cibola Drive, behind Irving Mall. Police said Tony July Vasquez, 31, was riding a motorized scooter in the roadway when a black car struck him. A witness told investigators the vehicle then returned through the area and hit Vasquez a second time before leaving. Vasquez was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas with life-threatening injuries. He died the next day. Noe Ibarra Cedeno, 36, was arrested and later charged with offenses that include intoxication manslaughter and collision involving death. The allegations against him have not been proven in court.

The bumper fragment became a central part of the early investigation. Officers examining the crash scene determined that the recovered piece appeared to have come from the front of a Honda Civic, according to reports based on the arrest affidavit. Police searched nearby streets and located a damaged black Civic in the 2800 block of Lago Vista Loop, about one street from the crash location. Investigators said damage to the car was consistent with debris recovered from Cantrell Street. The discovery gave officers a physical link between the vehicle and the scene before they had publicly identified a suspected driver.

Police contacted Cedeno as he left a residence near the parked Honda, the affidavit said. Investigators reported that he began making statements before officers questioned him in detail, saying the incident was not his fault and that he had not meant to hit anyone. Those statements, like the other claims contained in the affidavit, represent the account investigators presented to establish probable cause. Cedeno has not been convicted, and public reports reviewed for this article did not identify an attorney speaking on his behalf or include a response to the allegations from the defense.

Cedeno told investigators he had spent part of the evening watching a soccer match with friends and had consumed four to six Corona beers between about 8 and 11 p.m., according to the affidavit. He said he later left to take someone to a hotel. While driving, Cedeno said, he struck something but did not immediately know what it was. He later believed he might have hit a person, the affidavit said. Investigators wrote that Cedeno turned around and drove through the area again, did not see anything in the road and struck what he believed was the same object a second time.

After passing through the scene again, Cedeno continued to the hotel and later returned home, investigators said. That account is significant because Texas law generally requires a driver involved in a crash that may have caused injury or death to stop, determine whether anyone was hurt and provide reasonable assistance. Prosecutors will have to prove the elements of each charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The available reporting does not establish whether Cedeno called emergency services, sought help for Vasquez or contacted police before officers located the Civic.

Officers said Cedeno showed signs commonly associated with alcohol impairment. Police reported that his eyes appeared glassy, that officers noticed a strong smell of alcohol and that field sobriety tests showed additional signs of impairment. A preliminary breath test measured his breath alcohol concentration at 0.103%, investigators said. Texas sets 0.08% as the legal threshold for intoxication for most adult drivers. A roadside or preliminary breath result may be part of an investigation, but it is not by itself a final determination of criminal responsibility.

Cedeno also agreed to provide a blood sample at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Irving, according to local reporting based on the affidavit. Publicly available accounts reviewed for this article did not include the laboratory result from that sample. A blood analysis can become important evidence in an intoxication case because it may offer a more formal measurement than a preliminary breath test. It remains unclear whether prosecutors have received a final toxicology report or whether additional testing, crash reconstruction or vehicle examination is still being completed.

Vasquez suffered multiple broken bones, damage to internal organs and severe trauma to his head and brain, the affidavit said. He was transported to Parkland in critical condition and died June 20. Police initially investigated offenses based on serious bodily injury, but the case changed after his death. Reports said the charges were upgraded to include intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and collision involving death. Other reported counts include intoxication assault and collision involving serious bodily injury, although the precise active charge list should be determined from the latest court record.

The case illustrates how a small piece of physical evidence can shape the first hours of a crash investigation. The bumper fragment gave detectives a vehicle type to search for, while the damaged car found nearby provided a possible source for comparison. Investigators could then combine that evidence with the witness account, Cedeno’s reported statements, sobriety observations and any surveillance video or electronic records they obtained. Police have not publicly released a complete evidence inventory, a reconstruction report or video showing the sequence described by the witness.

Authorities have also not announced a motive for the second impact. Cedeno’s reported account was that he returned because he thought he might have hit a person but did not see anything before striking something again. Police have described the event as a deadly hit-and-run and have alleged that the vehicle made a U-turn before the second collision. The public record reviewed for this article does not show that investigators have alleged Cedeno deliberately targeted Vasquez. Any conclusion about intent must be based on evidence presented in court rather than the disturbing sequence alone.

Jail records cited in news reports placed Cedeno’s combined bond at $350,000 after the charges were updated. Earlier reporting listed a lower total before Vasquez died and before additional counts were added. An immigration detainer was also reportedly lodged against Cedeno. Such a detainer is separate from the state criminal prosecution and does not resolve the charges arising from the crash. Public reports did not identify a trial date, an indictment date or the date of Cedeno’s next court appearance.

Vasquez was remembered by his family as a musician and creative person. He played bass in a band with his father and had hoped to perform at El Carnaval de El Salvador, according to local reports and an obituary. His father, Julio Vasquez, told FOX 4 that he missed his son and described the loss as terrible. Family accounts also said Vasquez was writing a book and brought joy to those around him. Those details shifted attention from the mechanics of the investigation to the life lost on Cantrell Street.

The Irving Police Department continued to investigate the crash, and the case was referred to the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney’s Office for review. Key unanswered questions include the final blood-test result, whether additional video or witness evidence exists and which charges will ultimately be presented in court. Cedeno remains presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty.

Author note: Last updated July 28, 2026.