MILAN, N.M. – An early morning car accident claimed the life of an infant child on August 2. The accident occurred near Milepost 79 just outside the Village of Milan, New Mexico. A vehicle rollover was responsible for the fatality, all other passengers in the vehicle were unharmed. This accident remains under investigation by the New Mexico State Police.
At 5:10 a.m. a 2012 Nissan Quest van travelling in the right lane of Eastbound Interstate 40. A 2004 Honda Pilot SUV was coming up behind the van in the same lane. For reasons yet unknown to investigators, the Honda hit the Nissan in the rear bumper which led to the Nissan spinning out of control, before it eventually rolled on the interstate.
As the Nissan began to roll, an infant child was ejected from the vehicle. According to New Mexico State Police Officer Dusty Francisco, the infant was not inside of a carseat or properly fastened at the time of the accident.
Including the infant child, there was a total of eight passengers inside the Nissan van. The driver was a 34-year-old man, his surviving passenger’s range in age from 12 to 64. The oldest passenger was seen by Superior Ambulance officials for non-life-threatening injuries. A 27-year-old passenger was taken to Cibola General Hospital for unknown injuries.
The Pilot SUV had four passengers, all ranging from 20-22-years-old, the driver was a 20-year-old. All passengers in this vehicle were unharmed.
According to Francisco, alcohol does not appear to be a factor and seatbelts were properly utilized by everyone except the infant passenger. This accident remains under investigation by the New Mexico State Police. No other information is available.