Three people dead
A five-vehicle collision took the lives of three people.
On June 25, around 10:30 pm, the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office dispatched deputies to Mile Marker 63 on Interstate 40 westbound, about 40 miles east of Gallup after a caller reported a multiple vehicle collision with injuries and possible fatalities.
According to the Undersheriff James Maiorano III, two semi-trucks and three cars were involved in the crash.
The investigation is still ongoing, but deputies believe the driver of one of the tractor-trailers, who is not being identified at this time, was approaching a traffic backup due to a collision being handled in the construction zone in the roadway ahead.
The driver failed to slow down for slow moving traffic, and collided into the back end of a car, killing all three people inside.
The car was pushed into the back of a minivan causing injury to those passengers. The minivan was then pushed into another car, and then glanced off the front of another semi-truck before coming to a stop.
The first passenger car and minivan passengers were family members traveling together. The names of those deceased are not being released at this time.
The office is working with New Mexico State Police to get warrants on the vehicles for their Event Data Recorders. EDRs will help deputies determine how fast the vehicles were traveling at the time of the collision.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating this collision as a vehicular homicide case. After the investigation is complete, MCSO will confer with the District Attorney’s office regarding possible charges.
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