Families to sue state after fatal I-40 crash

Police and fire officials carry the body of a man to a Cope Memorial Chapel vehicle on Interstate 40 in this March 30 file photo. James Gaffer, 46, was killed when his eastbound traveling vehicle collided head on with a van traveling west. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — The families of two men, one of whom was killed in a crash on Interstate Highway 40 west of Gallup, have announced their intention to sue the state.

James Gasser, 46, was the driver of a westbound SUV, who died immediately upon impact of an eastbound van about 8 a.m. March 30. Roads were icy that morning, and the driver of the van was not drunk, according to McKinley County Sheriff’s Investigators.

Investigators said the van was traveling east at approximately 65 mph, or 95 feet per second, when it slid across the icy road, through the median and into oncoming traffic. The enormous thrust behind the much-heavier van literally sheared the SUV; the van rolled once — over the guard rail — and landed right side up. Its driver walked away with surprisingly few injuries.

The passenger in the SUV, 24-year-old Jonathan Munsterman, suffered a head and other injuries, investigators said, and was taken to the hospital.

“That vehicle actually went through the other vehicle,” Investigator Owen Peña said the day of the crash.

The families of Gasser and Munsterman announced their intent to sue last week, citing the state with negligence, because there are no Jersey barriers nor guard rails in the median separating Interstate 40’s east- and west-bound lanes, at the site of the crash, according to a contract investigator, John Gunlogson, who has been hired by the state’s attorneys.

Gunlogson said the families have two years to formally file suit.

“At this point ... (they) have only served notice that they intend to commence suit ... alleging that guard rails and a median Jersey barrier should have existed at the accident scene,” Gunlogson wrote in an e-mail. “The lawsuit complaint most likely will contain much more extensive allegations against the DOT.”

Reporter Phil Stake can be reached at philip.stake@gmail.com, or by calling (505) 863-6811 x223.