Car collision with semi closes section of U.S. 285
A car collided with a semitruck early Sunday afternoon on U.S. 285, just past the first exit to the community of Eldorado in Santa Fe County.
By late afternoon, at least eight state police cars and the New Mexico Department of Transportation were still at the scene. Authorities had cordoned off a section of the highway near the intersection of Avenida Vista Grande, diverting traffic in a wide loop around the incident.
Police at the scene declined to comment on what had occurred and a spokeswoman for state police did not respond to questions about the incident.
On the side of the road, however, the front end of an 18-wheel semi-truck remained entangled with a small, silver Mazda.
The driver’s side of the Mazda had been ripped open, the door discarded several feet farther along on the roadside, exposing inflated air bags inside the car. Emergency medical equipment lay abandoned just beside the vacant car door.
The front bumper of the semi-truck, owned by DRM in El Duende, a small town north of Hernandez and Española, appeared bent and discolored.
Michael Carlson, 41, a teacher in Santa Rosa, was with his dog at the Eldorado dog park, waiting for police to clear the road so he could go home.
“There is no way around, so I’m stuck,” he said.