70-year-old Tohlakai woman questioned, no charges filed yet

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — Police identified a 70-year-old Tohlakai woman as the driver of the vehicle that was involved in a hit-and-run collision that killed a Gallup woman last week.

Colleen Silvers, 55, was killed as she walked along New Mexico Highway 602 near Park Avenue at about 11 p.m., Monday. Police were not able to locate the driver of the involved vehicle until late last week.

Police have not charged the woman and are awaiting the results of an accident reconstructionist to complete the investigation.

Deputy Police Chief John Allen, a spokesman for the Gallup Police Department, said another motorist witnessed the vehicle in question swerve during the collision and saw a patch of dust fly into the air.

The witness then wrote down the vehicle’s license plate number and forwarded the information to police once he or she learned of the fatal collision through an article in The Independent.

Detectives tracked the vehicle to its owner who was identified as the 70-year-old Tohlakai woman.

Allen said investigators arranged an interview with the woman and a Navajo interpreter for Saturday.

During the conversation, the woman told authorities she was receiving intravenous drugs at Gallup Indian Medical Center prior to the collision and was unable to find family members to drive her home following the treatment.

She decided to drive herself home and allegedly struck Silvers as she crossed the street with another person.

“She didn’t know what to do and drove home,” Allen said of the woman’s reaction following the impact.

The woman then called her daughter in Albuquerque and told her something “bad” had happened and she didn’t know what to do.

Allen said the woman did not surrender to authorities and that detectives had to find her before she confessed to her involvement in the crash.

The case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.

“That’s a decision the district attorney will make,” Allen said.