Man dies, 2 deputies injured in crash

An Albuquerque man was killed and a married couple, both sheriff’s deputies in Rio Arriba and Taos counties, were injured in a crash in Santa Fe.

SANTA FE — An Albuquerque man died and three other people — including married deputies who serve in Rio Arriba and Taos counties — were injured in a twovehicle collision on N.M. 599 in Santa Fe about 4 p.m. Thursday.

A police report identifies the person who died while driving a car that was part of the wreck as Arsenio N. Sanchez of Albuquerque, with an address on McLeod NE. No age for Sanchez was available.

Later, Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe confirmed that the passenger and driver in a red pickup truck that was the other vehicle involved in the crash were Ted Garcia, a deputy in the Taos County Sheriff’s Office, and his wife, Cindy Garcia, a Rio Arriba County deputy.

Hogrefe said Ted Garcia had surgery for multiple fractures and muscle damage, and that his wife had a brain bleed and may need surgery.

The family of Sanchez provided a statement from Sanchez’s grandson which said, “My only goal in life was to be half the man you were” and expressed regrets that Sanchez couldn’t be present to see the grandson get his firefighter badge next week. “I know you will always be my guardian angel and will always look after me,” the grandson said.

Hogrefe said the car pulled out in front of the deputies’ truck and caused the collision, which occurred at N.M. 599 and Via Veteranos. But a Santa Fe Police Department report released Friday provided no details of the circumstances of the crash, which blocked traffic on N.M. 599 for hours Thursday.

In the SFPD report, a responding officer says medics reported that the driver of a car, identified as Arsenio Sanchez, had no signs of life and that a passenger from the car had been taken to the Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, along with the driver of a pickup truck and his passenger.