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This wreckage occurred on Dec. 24 on Interstate 40 not too far outside of Grants. Boxes and boxes of Greek yogurt littered both sets of lanes on I-40, causing many drivers to seek alternative routes which ultimately created more traffic disruptions and one more car accident. Courtesy of GFR -
This wreckage occurred on Dec. 24 on Interstate 40 not too far outside of Grants. Boxes and boxes of Greek yogurt littered both sets of lanes on I-40, causing many drivers to seek alternative routes which ultimately created more traffic disruptions and one more car accident. Courtesy Sheriff Diaz
Across Cibola County on Christmas Eve, December 24, a series of traffic accidents cut off all traffic into and out of Grants, New Mexico. The chaos caused by these accidents, while none of them were fatal, was more than enough to spread local law enforcement thin. Sheriff Larry Diaz said that all of the responding agencies worked as quick as they could and with as much efficiency as possible. He said that all of the agencies involved had good communication.
Sheriff Diaz said that he is grateful that none of the accidents resulted in any deaths.
The first accident occurred just before noon on Interstate 40. A westbound semitruck driver lost control of his vehicle for unknown reasons, crossed the median and crashed into the trailer of another semitruck that was hauling boxes of Greek yogurt. The westbound driver continued going straight, avoiding other oncoming traffic before he finally came to a stop off the side of the eastbound lanes. This crashcaused debris on both lanes of the interstate, boxes of yogurt littered the ground and brought traffic on both sides of the interstate to a screeching halt. The only injury as a result of this accident was an injury to the westbound driver’s shoulder.
“We are so fortunate, with all the oncoming traffic, that this wasn’t a much worse accident,” Sheriff Diaz said.
Police, fire, and emergency medical services quickly arrived on scene to assist with the crash. The New Mexico Roads Department brought out specialty equipment to help clean the debris, but law enforcement, fire, and EMS were about to get another call.
While I-40 was backing up on both sides, many drivers decided to go around the accident altogether by hopping on the old frontage roads which mostly run parallel to Interstate 40. Sheriff Diaz received a call that traffic on the frontage roads was backing up, at this point he began to drive the shoulder of I-40 to get to the next accident scene.
A semitruck driver grew impatient waiting for traffic on the frontage to slow so he could turn around, and tried to make a hasty U-turn that made his trailer jackknife and get stuck in between two lanes on the frontage road. New Mexico State Police arrived on scene before the sheriff as they didn’t have to compete with as much traffic. Another semitruck driver unhooked his trailer and used his engine to help correct the jackknifed truck. NMSP cited the jackknifed driver for disrupting traffic.
By the time this incident was handled, around 12:45, I-40 was still bottlenecked and no traffic was flowing. Many people were driving on the median to turn around to hop on the old roads.
Finally, as traffic began flowing on the frontage road, a semitruck driver not paying attention barreled into an SUV near Sky City Casino Hotel. Acoma Police Department responded to assist with this crash and ultimately took over. There were no fatalities as a result of this accident.
Finally, while this accident was being cleared up, Interstate 40 was cleared from boxes and boxes of yogurt being moved next to the trailer wreckage in the median of the interstate. Traffic finally began to flow like normal.
Interstate 40 is a major commercial center where millions and millions of dollars’ worth of product is shipped every day. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, where all the major arteries that lead into Grants were blocked, Sheriff Diaz said that his team and all other agencies involved in the response acted quickly to secure the area and protect drivers.
“It’s awesome to see such good teamwork,” Sheriff Diaz said, “All of the first responders are professionals. Here in Cibola, our citizens and those who travel our roads should be proud of the work we do. Especially because, during all of this, we were still getting other calls… Thank God there were no other major injuries or crashes.”