On Saturday at around 2:21 a.m., New Mexico State Police Officers responded to a report of a wrong way driver on Interstate 25 north of Las Cruces. The vehicle was reported to be traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. Officers saw the wrong way vehicle at about mile marker 14 and attempted to make a traffic stop. The vehicle failed to stop and struck one of the State Police Officers patrol unit causing heavy damage to the unit and sent the officer to the hospital for her injuries.
Immediately after the collision with the State Police Officers unit, a second State Police Officer was able to successfully stop the vehicle in the median. After a subsequent DWI investigation the driver of the wrong way vehicle, Brenda Alonzo Martinez (39) of Vado, NM was placed under arrest and charged with Aggravated DWI, Aggravated Fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting/Evading an Officer, No Insurance, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, and Reckless Driving. She was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center.
The State Police Officer that was injured in the incident was later released from the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Thanks to the quick actions taken by these officers, lives were saved, and a more serious crash was prevented. This incident remains under investigation by the New Mexico State Police with no additional information currently available.
Information from NM State Police