Two survive horrific crash

Firefighters await a tow truck to remove the passenger cab of a pick-up truck from the middle of the road at the scene of a head-on collision Friday morning on U.S. 491 two miles north of Tohatchi that also left a tanker truck upside down in the ditch. The drivers of both vehicles survived the collision. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Staff Report

TOHATCHI — Two men survived a near head-on collision on Highway 491 early Friday morning.

The Navajo Police Department arrived around 8 a.m. to find a semi-truck overturned on the south side of the highway, the bed of a white pick-up truck on the north side of the highway, and the pick-up's cab in the middle of the road near Mile Marker 28.

Custer Bryant, a senior officer with the Navajo Police Department, said the driver of the pick-up truck with Colorado plates may have fallen asleep at the wheel as he was seen weaving across the center line.

"He was responsive," Bryant said.

The semi driver was pinned inside his cab for 30 minutes, but emerged with a few minor scratches.

Both men, whose names were not released, were transported to Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital.

Traffic was halted for about 20 minutes, motorists said.

The Gallup Fire Department and New Mexico State Police responded to the scene, as well as an emergency crew from Choosgai Community School.

Eddie Etsitty, one of the emergency workers, said the crew typically provides traffic control and responds to accidents like this one within an 18-mile radius of the school.

While surveying the scene, one person standing by said he thought the driver of the pick-up lucky to be alive.

"If I were him, I'd go out and buy a lottery ticket," said the man, who declined to give his name.

Both men are non-Indian and were driving alone.

It is not known if any charges will be filed as the accident is still under investigation by the Navajo Police Department.