Gallup Police Seek Witness, Offer Reward in Fatal I-40 Crash
Gallup police need help finding Shawnessy Martinez, 30, who may have seen the Feb. 3 fatal hit-and-run on I-40. A $1,000 reward is on the table.
A $1,000 reward is waiting for anyone who can help Gallup police find a man they believe watched someone die on Interstate 40.
Police are seeking public assistance in locating a man who may have witnessed an alleged vehicular homicide. The fatal crash occurred Feb. 3 at the Miyamura Overpass on Interstate 40. The Gallup Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division identified 30-year-old Shawnessy Martinez as someone who possibly witnessed the incident, and investigators are asking anyone who knows his whereabouts to contact GPD or Metro Dispatch.
The Miyamura Overpass carries the I-40 corridor through Gallup, one of the busiest stretches of roadway in McKinley County. According to Captain Erin Toadlena-Pablo, bystanders who arrived at the scene noticed something on the road that "looked like a body." Toadlena-Pablo said the bystanders told police they had not witnessed the accident itself. A separate witness, however, called police and reported seeing a silver SUV-type vehicle, possibly bearing New Mexico plates, strike the victim on the roadway and flee. That witness followed the SUV to U.S. Highway 491, where it left the Gallup city limits heading north. Officers noted the vehicle had possible front-end damage consistent with the collision. Medical personnel pronounced the victim deceased at the scene. No victim name has been released.
Investigators are treating the case as an alleged vehicular homicide, though no arrests or formal charges have been filed. The identity of the driver of the silver SUV has not been established. Shawnessy Martinez, 30, is not identified as a suspect; GPD's Criminal Investigations Division believes he was present on the Miyamura Overpass at the time of the crash and may hold critical information about what happened.
McKinley County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Tips can be submitted anonymously. Anyone with information on Martinez's whereabouts is asked to call GPD Det. Tasheena Wilson directly at 505-726-5468, or Metro Dispatch at 505-722-2002. Anonymous tips can be reported to McKinley County Crime Stoppers at 877-722-6161. The Gallup Police Department's general line is 505-863-9365.
No arrests have been announced, and the investigation remains active.
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