TULAROSA, N.M. — Eleven people were injured on Friday afternoon, November 6, when a car that witnesses say sped through a stop sign struck a white van carrying 10 people and a silver SUV carrying three on U.S. Highway 70, and the 24-year-old driver was arrested on DWI-related charges, the New Mexico State Police said.

Source: New Mexico State Police via EIN Presswire

No one was killed, state police said, but the rescue was a major operation: fire crews had to free three people trapped inside the van, at least nine people were taken to a local hospital by ground, and two van passengers were airlifted to a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

4:04 p.m. at U.S. 70 and Old Mescalero Road

State police officers were dispatched at approximately 4:04 p.m. on Friday to the intersection of U.S. 70 and Old Mescalero Road in Tularosa for a crash involving three vehicles: a black Chevrolet passenger car, a white van and a silver SUV. When officers arrived, emergency medical personnel were already treating multiple patients at the scene.

According to witness statements reported by state police, the driver of the Chevrolet, identified as 24-year-old Oren J. Shanta, was travelling northbound on Old Mescalero Road at a high rate of speed when he failed to stop at the stop sign at U.S. 70. His vehicle then struck the white van and the silver SUV. Those witness accounts are the basis of the preliminary account; the investigation is continuing.

Three people trapped in the van

Fire crews worked to rescue three people who were trapped in the van. At least six passengers from the van, two people from the black Chevrolet and Shanta himself were transported to a local hospital for treatment, state police said. Two additional passengers from the van were airlifted to a hospital in El Paso.

State police said the present conditions of those injured are unknown. No fatalities have been reported. The names and ages of the van and SUV occupants have not been released.

The arrest and the charges

While speaking with Shanta at the scene, officers said they detected an odour of alcohol coming from him and observed other signs that led them to believe he was impaired. Following further investigation, state police placed Shanta under arrest. The impairment account is the officers' allegation, recorded in the state police release; it has not been tested in court.

Shanta was charged with Great Bodily Harm by Vehicle (DWI) and Reckless Driving, state police said. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until the case is proved in court.

Source: KOB 4 report

Why this crossing matters

U.S. 70 is the main east-west highway through Tularosa in southern New Mexico, carrying local traffic, through travellers and trucks between the Tularosa Basin and the Sacramento Mountains. Old Mescalero Road meets it at a stop-signed rural intersection — the kind of crossing where a single missed stop sign puts a fast side-road car directly into highway traffic, which is exactly the sequence witnesses described to state police.

What happens next

The case now moves into the court process in New Mexico on the two charges state police announced, while the crash investigation continues and the conditions of the 11 injured people are updated by the hospitals treating them. State police have not announced any further charges, and any change would come through the investigation or the prosecutor's office.