Interstate 40 eastbound traffic near milepost 6 came to a sudden stop shortly before noon Oct. 29, when a tractor-trailer collided into the back of another tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder.

After the crash, the trucks blocked both lanes of I-40 eastbound, causing traffic to snarl as far back as the New Mexico-Arizona state line for hours, while the investigation and clean-up were underway.

“Both drivers sustained unknown injuries and both were transported to a local hospital,” New Mexico State Police Public Information Officer Dusty Francisco said. “Their conditions are unknown.”

The crash remains under investigation.

Construction sites have been frequent targets of thieves in McKinley County who want to acquire items they can sell easily.

A good example of this occurred on Oct. 22 as McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Paul Davis Jr. traveled to Carbon Coal Road about 8 am to investigate a report of a break-in of a U-Haul that a construction company had been using to store equipment.

When he got there, he met Jose Danilo and Jeyson Fraticelli, employees of Thompson Pipe Group. They escorted him to a location about a quarter of a mile away where they had left a U-Haul overnight.

Davis said when he got there, he saw the back loading door open and construction equipment scattered all around the vehicle...

JAIL DAMAGE

Gallup, Oct. 20

Three inmates at McKinley County Detention Center likely made their situation worse by causing property damage.

McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Clayton Etsitty was dispatched to the jail and met with Sgt. Adam Berg, who stated a security safety light had been taken and dismantled by Caleb Samm, 27, no address given; Colton Whiteman, 31, no address given; and Jose Estrada, 38, no address given.

According to surveillance footage, the trio had worked together to take one of the light fixtures off the wall and removed components from the light to retrieve a battery.

When the inmates were questioned about the incident, they denied any involvement. No other...

Lionel Chavez

Oct. 19, 3:58 am
DWI

McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Roane Alan was on patrol when he received a call that said sheriff’s office deputies were dispatched to the 44-mile marker of I-40 in reference to a stolen vehicle that was being followed by the registered owner.

As Alan responded to the call, he heard from Metro Dispatch how a green car had gotten off I-40 onto Highway 118 and then back onto I-40 near exit 33 and was now traveling west in the eastbound lane.

Alan told Dispatch he was stationary at the 26-mile marker and proceeded to get the Nissan Sentra to stop after it passed him. The Sentra continued to travel west in the eastbound lane of I-40 and nearly...