Crash kills cousins
Police respond to 479 calls for assistance

Two Gallup firefighters pick up one of two bodies and move it from the scene of an accident early Saturday morning. The accident occurred around 3 a.m. between a passenger truck and a semi truck in the westbound lanes of I-40 east of Gallup. The pickup was reportedly driving the wrong way on I-40 for more than a mile before hitting the semi. Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the accident. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

Independent Staff

GALLUP — A crash on Interstate 40 east of here on Saturday morning claimed the lives of two cousins.

Killed were Eric Daniel Slim, 21,of Yahtahey, and Lindrith Chee, also 21, of Lupton.

According to New Mexico State Police reports, the pair were driving the wrong way on I-40 near Mile Marker 13 when the accident occurred at about 3 a.m.

State Police Lt. Rick Anglada said authorities received a call Saturday morning of a reckless driver heading into New Mexico from Arizona.

Anglada said Slim had been driving a pickup going eastbound on the interstate when he made a sharp turn into the median, then drove into the westbound lanes and hit a semi tractor-trailer. At least one of the cousins was thrown from the vehicle.

The semi's driver was identified as 63-year-old Victor Espindola, of Chatham, N.J. His passenger was 36-year-old George Almo, of Lake Horn, Miss. Espindola and Almo did not sustain any serious injuries as a result of the crash, Lt. Darren Soland said.

Soland said officers are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine what role alcohol played in the accident. Officers at the scene reportedly smelled the odor of alcohol on the deceased.


Busy weekend
Gallup police responded to 479 calls for assistance during the holiday weekend, according to Lt. Clint Weatherspoon.

Officers also made seven drunken driving arrests and issued 16 citations. City police also responded to 26 accidents during a 96-hour time frame.

Weatherspoon called the statistics "pretty low" for a typical weekend. No major accidents or incidents were reported.

"It's evident to say people behaved themselves over the weekend," he said.

Police arrested a woman on Saturday night for driving drunk into several parked cars near Verdi Drive.

The woman's name was not immediately available, as of press time. Her two young children were allegedly passengers inside her vehicle. No one was injured during the crash.