McKinley County Deputies Respond to Train, Car Collision Near Gallup
A train struck a car at a railroad crossing near Defiance Draw Road and State Highway 118 east of Gallup on Monday morning.
McKinley County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched Monday morning to a railroad crossing east of Gallup after a train struck a car at the intersection of Defiance Draw Road and State Highway 118, a stretch of the old Route 66 corridor that cuts through the eastern edge of the county.
Local dispatchers alerted MCSO to the collision on March 16, 2026. The crossing sits along a section of highway familiar to longtime Gallup-area residents as part of the historic Route 66 alignment, where freight rail lines and roadways share close quarters across the high desert terrain.
Details on the condition of the vehicle's occupants and the extent of damage were not immediately available. The investigation remained active as of the morning of March 17.
Railroad crossings along the State Highway 118 corridor have long posed navigational challenges where rail traffic intersects with local and through travel. MCSO has not released additional information on what led to the collision or whether any citations or charges are expected to follow.
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