GRANTS, N.M. – On January 20 a fatal car crash on State Road 53 in Grants, New Mexico led to at least one fatality. Alcohol was not a factor in this crash. A 2018 white Ford Flex with Alaska plates was getting off Interstate 40 at Exit 81 in Grants, when it collided with a 2016 white jeep with New Mexican plates, that was travelling from San Rafael, N.M. The damage to both vehicles was considered “Heavy” and “Disabled” both vehicles, according to a Grants Police Department report.
According to the GPD report, the white ford failed to yield as it was merging on SR53. The road is a posted 45 mile per hour zone, at the time of the accident, roads were dry and there was daylight. The Ford Flex had two occupants at the time, with the driver, a woman, declared deceased on site. The male passenger was taken by ambulance to Cibola General Hospital and later flown to an Albuquerque hospital, due to COVID-19 restraints the Cibola Citizen was unable to learn the status of the male passenger. The driver of the 2016 Jeep sustained injuries to her legs, with her right leg possibly being fractured. She was transported by ambulance to Cibola General Hospital. New Mexico State Police and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office assisted Grants Police Department in cleaning up the scene, reconstructing how the crash occurred, and notifying the family of the deceased.