ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An 18-year-old driver was arrested Saturday following a two-vehicle rollover crash that killed an 11-year-old child Friday, Sept. 25, on Interstate 40 near Unser Boulevard.
New Mexico State Police and Albuquerque Police officers responded around 9:54 p.m. to the crash in the eastbound lanes near milepost 154.
Officers learned that a gray Dodge passenger car driven by Malachi Velasquez-McCormick, 18, and occupied by three others, was traveling eastbound on I-40 at a high rate of speed when he moved to the right lane to pass a semitruck. As he attempted to return to the left lane, the Dodge struck the rear passenger side of a Chevrolet SUV and its six occupants, causing both vehicles to roll over.
Velasquez-McCormick and his three passengers, along with three passengers from the Chevrolet were transported to an area hospital. The extent of their injuries is unknown. Tragically, an 11-year-old child in the Chevrolet died from injuries sustained in the crash.
According to the criminal complaint, he tried to say his brother was the driver and later recanted the statement.
Officers found multiple open containers of alcohol in the Dodge. During an interview and sobriety tests, an officer observed signs of impairment. Velasquez-McCormick told the officer he had consumed alcohol and used marijuana before the crash.
Following his release from the hospital, Velasquez-McCormick was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on the following charges:
- Homicide by vehicle (DWI)
- Aggravated DWI (bodily injury)
- Reckless driving
- Open container
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