Police ID victim of fatal crash
GHS student in rush to take test may have caused wreck

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Police are investigating the traffic accident on Mendoza Road that resulted in the death of a 52-year-old Gallup woman.

The victim was identified as Nancy Natanabah, according to Capt. John Allen, a spokesman for the Gallup Police Department.

Natanabah was the driver of a white car that was involved in a head-on collision at about 8 a.m. on Friday.

Allen said the fatal crash occurred when the driver of a green pickup traveling westbound along Mendoza Road passed a blue passenger car and a brown pickup truck. During the maneuver, the brown pickup veered off the roadway and the driver of the blue passenger car lost control of the vehicle.

The blue passenger car subsequently traveled into the eastbound lane and struck the white passenger car that was driven by Natanabah. Natanabah died at the scene and the driver of the blue passenger car was flown to an Albuquerque hospital for treatment. No information was available about the second driver's condition. Natanabah's two passengers were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Allen said the driver of the green pickup called 9-1-1 about the accident, but it's "disputable" as to whether he returned to the scene of the crash. The driver of the green pickup is a student at Gallup High School and was questioned about the accident; however, no citations or criminal charges have been filed in connection with the case.

Allen said the student told police he was late to take at test at Gallup High School.

Meanwhile, investigators are working to piece the accident together to determine what caused the crash.

"We are in no rush to judgment," Allen said about the investigation.

Allen said there is no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the collision.