New Mexico State Police have arrested the driver of a semi who allegedly hit a woman and her infant at I-40 eastbound, west of Gallup, near mile marker 15 at approximately 9:30 p.m. Jan. 19 and left the scene.
Jagjeet Singh was located Jan. 20 after a call was broadcast to all state and local law enforcement agencies. A McKinley County sheriff's deputy spotted a semi with heavy front end damage at the Flying J truck stop off Interstate 40, exit 39, in Jamestown, N.M.
Singh was identified as the driver and was taken into custody and arrested without incident.
After he was booked into the McKinley County Adult Detention Center in Gallup, an examination of his truck, turned up 34.8 grams of heroin and 5.6 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
At the scene of the crash the NMSP Investigations Bureau and Crash Reconstruction Unit discovered a shoe, and what appeared to be debris from a vehicle in the left lane of Interstate 40 and the median.
As the deputy and officer got closer to the object, they identified it as a car seat with an infant in it.
The woman was identified as Jessica Ann Copey, 24, of Tohlakai, N.M. She and the baby were pronounced dead at the scene.
During the processing of the crash location agents learned Copey had been carrying the infant in the car seat and walking in the left lane of Interstate 40, when the two were struck.
Singh was charged with two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in great bodily injury or death, one count of possession of a controlled substance (heroin), one count of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau.
