Box truck driver dies in accident on I-40 east of Tucumcari

TUCUMCARI, NM - New Mexico State Police said a box truck driver was killed in a crash on Interstate 40 Monday night.

According to a news release, 18-year-old Diego Ignacio Castro Serrito was driving a 2024 International box truck west on Interstate 40 at about 9:30 p.m.

The truck went off the roadway at milepost 354, east of Tucumcari, and crashed into the back of a 2024 Volvo tractor-trailer that was parked on the shoulder.  Serrito was ejected from the box truck onto the roadway, where he was then hit by a 2019 Freightliner tractor-trailer.

Serrito, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene.  The drivers of the Volvo and the Freightliner were not injured.

State Police said it did not appear that Serrito was properly wearing a seatbelt at the time.  NMSP is continuing its investigation into the crash, and said alcohol was not believed to have been a contributing factor.