Guadalupe County, NM – On July 25, 2022, at about 8:40 a.m., the New Mexico State Police investigated a fatal head-on crash involving a Commercial Motor Vehicle and a Nissan Sentra on Interstate 40 near mile marker 294 east of Santa Rosa, New Mexico.
The initial investigation shows a 2017 Freightliner, was traveling westbound on Interstate 40 near mile marker 294. For reasons still under investigation, the Freightliner crossed the median of Interstate 40 and struck a Nissan Sentra head-on that was traveling east on Interstate 40.
The driver of the Nissan Sentra, Stephen Barnes (67), and passenger, Susan Barnes (69) both of Tulsa, OK sustained fatal injuries in the crash and were pronounced deceased at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
The driver of the Freightliner a twenty-five-year-old male and the passenger a forty-year-old male were transported by emergency personnel to an area hospital for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.
Alcohol does not appear to be a factor and seatbelts appear to have been properly utilized.
The New Mexico State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit assisted with the investigation. The crash investigation remains active and ongoing.