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Hit-and-run traps victims in vehicle

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Suspect faces charges in Navajo tribal court

Nizhoni Jacob, 39, of St. Michaels, Ariz. faces DWI charges in Navajo tribal court, but other charges, including leaving the scene of an accident, may be filed against him in New Mexico State court.

It began with a report of a two-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 491 near Gamerco at 10 am Nov. 24.

McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Cecil Sanders said when arrived at the scene, he met a tribal police officer who said the vehicle that caused the accident had left the scene.

The officer reportedly said the driver and passenger in the other vehicle were OK but were trapped in their vehicle.

Sanders spoke to the two people who were trapped; they told him they were all right. The driver said they had been rear-ended by a black Jeep, causing their vehicle to slide off the road and hit several boulders.

The two were evacuated from their car and taken to a local hospital. In the meantime, police began a search for the other vehicle.

Sanders eventually learned that a Jeep with severe front-end damage had been located in Window Rock, Ariz. Police found paint streaks on the front of the vehicle that matched the paint on the victims’ vehicle.