DWI driver sideswipes patrol unit during I-40 stop east of Gallup

A New Mexico State Police officer on Interstate 40 east of Gallup was questioning a driver on the shoulder when a red car sped past and side-swiped both the patrol unit and the vehicle that had been stopped, turning a routine stop into a near miss that could have been deadly.

The crash happened Tuesday night, April 8, near milepost 31 in McKinley County, a stretch of I-40 where high-speed traffic leaves little room for error. The patrol car and the stopped vehicle were damaged, but no injuries were reported. KOB reported that the officer and the driver from the original stop were not hurt.

A second officer responded to help and spoke with the woman police believed had been driving the red car. Investigators identified her as 41-year-old Tiffany Jim of Arizona. Police found Jim alone in the car, sitting in the passenger seat, and she told officers a friend had been driving. New Mexico State Police said they smelled alcohol coming from the vehicle and determined Jim was the driver.

Jim then performed field sobriety tests and struggled through them, according to the reports. She was arrested and later questioned why she was being taken into custody, continuing to insist she had not been behind the wheel. KRQE reported the charges as aggravated DWI, careless driving and carrying an open container.

The close call landed hard in McKinley County because it brought together two dangers that local drivers see too often on I-40: impaired driving and roadside enforcement on a fast-moving interstate corridor. One wrong move from a passing car was enough to hit both a patrol unit and a stopped vehicle, showing how exposed officers and motorists are when a traffic stop unfolds on the shoulder.

The incident also comes against a backdrop of serious wrecks near Gallup, where state police and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office have been investigating other major crashes on I-40. For drivers crossing this stretch of interstate, the message is plain: slow down for stopped vehicles, move over when possible, and treat every roadside stop as a live danger zone.