Fatal Chain-Reaction Crash on I-40 Near Gallup Kills One, Injures Others

A passenger car crash on westbound Interstate 40 near mile marker 16 outside Gallup set off a chain-reaction collision Tuesday afternoon that drew multiple semi-trucks into the wreckage, sparked a vehicle fire, and left one person dead and several others injured.

The sequence unfolded March 10 when an initial passenger-car crash precipitated a second, larger collision involving commercial semi-trucks. The resulting fire brought firefighters and emergency medical personnel to the scene alongside law enforcement, with crews working to suppress the blaze and evaluate those caught in the wreckage.

Gallup Police Department officers were first to arrive and managed the scene until New Mexico State Police took over the investigation. As of this reporting, state police have not released the identity of the person killed, nor have officials disclosed how many vehicles or individuals were involved beyond confirming that multiple people were injured.

The crash site at mile marker 16 sits west of Gallup along one of New Mexico's busiest freight corridors, a stretch of I-40 that regularly carries heavy commercial truck traffic between Albuquerque and the Arizona state line. No information has been released about contributing factors, whether charges are pending, or how long the westbound lanes were affected.

New Mexico State Police are continuing their investigation.