For Immediate Release
March 14, 2023
Motorcycle Passenger Dies in Crash on U.S. 54 in Otero County
Otero County, NM – On March 13, at around 3:00 p.m., the New Mexico State Police, responded to a crash involving a 2019 Dodge RAM 3500 and a 2019 BMW motorcycle on U.S. Highway 54 at about milepost 76, south of Tularosa, NM.
The initial investigation indicates that both vehicles were traveling south on U.S. 54 when, for reasons still under investigation, the Dodge RAM, driven by a 74-year-old-man, drifted from its lane and struck the motorcycle, which was driven by a 73-year-old-man with passenger Susan DeForest, 68, of Sioux Falls, SD.
Ms. DeForest suffered fatal injuries as a result of the crash and was pronounced deceased on the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the crash, and both occupants of the motorcycle were wearing helmets. This crash is still under investigation by the New Mexico State Police.
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