Mora man killed on freeway was on his way to get married in Nevada

ALBUQUERQUE — A New Mexico woman says she and her boyfriend were on their way to Las Vegas, Nev., to get married before he was killed on Interstate 25 while changing a tire.

The Sandoval County Sheriff ’s Office said 28-year-old Lonnie Escovedo and 21-year-old Michael Chambellan were struck by a vehicle on the shoulder near Algodones on Tuesday evening as they were changing a tire. Deputies suspect 31-year-old Christie Noriega of Rio Rancho was intoxicated when she struck the men.

Escovedo’s fiancée, Benigna Martinez, told the Albuquerque Journal that the couple had been heading to Nevada for a spur-ofthe-moment marriage when they got a flat tire south of Santa Fe. They called Escovedo’s sister, who came to assist along with her boyfriend, Chambellan, of Albuquerque.

Martinez and Escovedo’s sister waited as the men worked on the tire, only to see them struck by Noriega.

According to the Journal, another couple driving on the highway at the time witnessed the crash and stopped to help — calling authorities, checking on the victims and shielding the victims from their deceased loved ones.

While the Sandoval County Sheriff ’s Office identified Escovedo as a Santa Fe man earlier this week, Martinez said the pair lived in Mora.

“How we loved each other and couldn’t wait to get out of the state to be Mr. and Mrs. Escovedo,” Martinez told the Journal.

Her fiancé loved to dance and “made [me] feel young again,” the 36-year-old said.

Noriega, meanwhile, faces charges of vehicular homicide, DWI and child abuse. Authorities said her 2-year-old child was in the car with her at the time of the crash. It is unclear if she has an attorney.