GRANTS, N.M. – A horrific car accident on July 20 smashed a car, killed two residents, and left their elementary school-aged children in the hospital. The City of Grants and wider Cibola County was left shocked and in mourning for the family. The driver who caused the accident, Tyrone Apachito, was indicted for causing the accident in the middle of August. After a IPRA request to Grants Police Department for records on the crash, the story finds more clarity. The information in this story comes from the arrest report, and a large number of supplemental reports from Grants Police Department. All people are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, Apachito has been remanded to jail by 13th Judicial District Court Judge Amanda Sanchez Villalobos, but has not yet been found guilty by a jury of his peers. Arrest reports merely make an allegation of what police officers experienced and witnessed. Apachito’s jury trial was scheduled for September 11 through 15 of 2023.
Before the Crash
Calls began to come in to the Cibola Regional Dispatch Center, informing them of a drunk or reckless driver on East Santa Fe Avenue. Witnesses informed dispatch that the vehicle was a dark grey or black Chevrolet Impala that was travelling at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic. Officers checked around East Santa Fe Avenue but did not find the vehicle.
The Crash
Dispatch informed Grants Police Department that there was a fight in progress at Elm Park in Grants. There was a physical dispute amongst teenagers that allegedly included Apachito, a 32year-old man, at the park. Police officers quickly responded.
As Lieutenant Barbara Kohn arrived on scene, she observed around 12 vehicles at the park. At the same time, Officer Kyle Saavedra was approaching the park from Roosevelt Avenue when a grey colored Chevrolet Impala came speeding down the road, nearly striking Officer Saavedra. The police vehicle had to come to a literal tire screeching halt.
Officer Saavedra sped up to catch the Impala, when he finally came close to catching up, he activated the emergency lights and sirens on the police vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. After a short pursuit, Officer Saavedra stopped the Impala on Third Street in Grants.
Officer Saavedra approached the vehicle with his firearm drawn and shouted orders for the driver, later identified as Apachito, to step out of the vehicle. Instead of obeying orders, the Impala was put in reverse, and the vehicle fled.
Officer Saavedra followed Apachito down High Street, onto Sargent Street. Here, Saavedra saw Apachito nearly collide with another police vehicle near the intersection of Second Street and Sargent. After the narrow miss, Apachito went the wrong way down Second Street.
As this was occurring, New Mexico State Police arrived at Elm Park to help Lt. Kohn get witness statements from teens at the park who were witnesses to the dispute. Lt. Kohn left the park to give assistance to Officer Saavedra who had relayed over the radio that Apachito was now travelling the wrong way.
At this point in the reports, thoughts of uncertainty about continuing the pursuit began to arise.
Lt. Kohn travelled down Second Street, hoping to catch up with the ongoing pursuit, when she observed police lights and the Impala travelling in her lane, right toward her. Second Street and First Street are both one-way roads, respectively travelling south and north.
Lt. Kohn was forced to swerve out of the way, rejoining the chase when she could correct her vehicle’s position, but she was behind the rest of the chase. A truck driver who was hauling a horse trailer was forced to curb their vehicle to avoid the speeding Apachito.
Chase speeds neared 80 miles per hour, as officer Saavedra neared the Children’s Youth and Family Services building on Roosevelt Avenue, he saw a large plume of dust rise up from further down the street.
As the dust settled, three vehicles were left crashed. One a work vehicle, the driver of which was mostly uninjured and is not facing charges; one family vehicle with two juveniles, their father and stepmother; and the Impala.
Apachito was found standing outside of his vehicle, and was taken into custody. Police officers worked to gain access to the family vehicle, which has sustained serious damage. First responders were able to pry open the doors and gain access to the vehicle at which point officers write they believed the father and stepmother to be deceased. The juvenile girls in the backseat were transported to Cibola General Hospital and did survive the accident.
Police officers conducted sobriety tests on Apachito, with Drug Recognition Experts also present, they determined Apachito was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Trial
Apachito was indicted for two counts of Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm; Two counts of Homicide by Vehicle (Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Any Drug); Two counts of Great Bodily Harm by Vehicle (Driving Under the Influence of Any Intoxicating Liquor or Drug); One count of Aggravated Assault Upon a Peace Officer (Deadly Weapon); One count of Aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer (Injury); One count of Aggravated Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Any Drug (Bodily Injury); One count of Driving While License Revoked (DWI Related); One count of Reckless Driving. An indictment is merely an allegation, unless found guilty in a court of law, Apachito is considered innocent of these offenses. Apachito is set to have a pretrial conference on May 8. As the court date comes closer, there will be a second pretrial conference on July 10. Jury trial will begin on September 11 and continue through September 15.
Apachito has been remanded to jail by Judge Sanchez Villalobos, where he is expected to remain until trial.