1 dead in Route 66 crash

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — At 7:53 a.m. today, a black Chevy pickup and a blue GMC Blazer collided head on near Jay Street on Historic Route 66, killing one female and injuring five people.

According to Lt. Rick White, a detective on the scene, the front passenger of the Blazer was pronounced dead immediately while the driver and three rear-seat passengers suffered unknown injuries and were transported to the hospital. The Blazer had been heading west on Historic Route 66, where the speed limit is 45 mph, when it drifted into the eastbound lane and struck the black Chevy pickup head on, according to Vince Begay, a city employee who had been traveling behind the pickup.

“It just kind of drifted over,” Begay said. “It was pretty quick.”

The driver of the pickup, a male, sustained minor injuries to his right leg, White said. He was able to go under his own power to the hospital for medical attention. At the time of impact, he had been driving to work at a construction site some 100 yards from the crash, Begay said.

White said the driver of the Blazer had been taking the now-deceased front passenger to a medical appointment at the time of the crash.