On Friday at approximately 11:55 p.m., Gallup Police Department were dispatched to the Redwood Lodge Motel in Gallup, NM in reference to two male subjects in a white Dodge Truck brandishing a firearm.
When Gallup Police Department officers arrived on scene, they located the white Dodge truck with two men inside. The white Dodge truck drove around the Gallup officers almost striking their Patrol unit. The white Dodge truck turned on New Mexico State Road 118. The truck fled and a pursuit was initiated.
As Gallup Police officers pursued the Dodge truck, the driver of the Dodge turned their headlights on and off and travelled in opposing lane traffic. The Dodge got onto Interstate 40 travelling eastbound at mile marker 16. The passenger began throwing objects from the bed of the truck at officers. At around mile marker 22, the driver of the Dodge crossed the median of Interstate 40 and began travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes, where a Gallup Police supervisor terminated the pursuit.
A State Police sergeant who parked in the median of Interstate 40 near mile marker 26 observed the Dodge truck traveling eastbound in the westbound lane. The sergeant fired at least one shot from his department issued shotgun at the white Dodge truck.
The Dodge truck continued travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 striking a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) head-on. The driver and passenger of the Dodge were ejected from the truck. They were pronounced deceased on scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator. The driver and passenger of CMV who will not identified by New Mexico State Police were uninjured.
The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau was requested to investigate the incident. The identification of the male suspects and officers will not be released by the New Mexico State Police at this time. No officers were injured during the incident. This information is preliminary, and the investigation is still active and ongoing.
Information from NM State Police