Eight killed in I-40 head-on crash near Thoreau
A tire blowout on westbound I-40 near Thoreau left eight dead and sent at least 40 people to hospitals, turning McKinley County’s main highway into a mass-casualty scene.
The crash on westbound Interstate 40 near Thoreau did more than leave a wrecked bus and semitrailer on the shoulder. It immediately strained hospitals across the region, sent emergency crews rushing into a sparsely populated stretch of McKinley County, and cut into the flow of traffic on the corridor many residents use to reach Gallup, Grants and points beyond.
The collision happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, near mile marker 50. New Mexico State Police said an eastbound semitrailer blew a tire, crossed the median and hit a westbound Greyhound bus head-on. Greyhound said 48 passengers were aboard, including five children, on a trip from St. Louis to Los Angeles.
The toll climbed quickly. Seven people were killed at first, and one more passenger died the following day, bringing the death toll to eight. At least 40 crash victims were taken to nearby hospitals, while another six were treated at the scene. University of New Mexico Hospital said three children were among the seriously injured passengers, including two treated in the neonatal unit.
The Medical Investigator identified five of the dead: Sadie Thomas, 50, of Farmington; Charla Bahe, 34; Terry Mason, 45; Veronica Jean Williams, 49; and Luis Alvarez, 50, the Greyhound driver from Santa Teresa. Greyhound said Alvarez had 27 years of experience with the company. State police said he was killed when the bus was struck head-on after the truck lost control.
The scene underscored how vulnerable the Gallup-to-Grants stretch of I-40 can be when a large vehicle fails in traffic. In that part of the county, medical care, towing and other roadside resources are spread far apart, so a single crash can become a multi-agency response in a matter of minutes. The National Transportation Safety Board later joined the investigation, and reporting said no alcohol or drugs played a role and no mechanical defects were found in either vehicle, leaving the tire failure at the center of one of the deadliest highway bus crashes in New Mexico in years.
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