EDDY COUNTY, NM - The Eddy County Sheriff's Office is investigating a fatal collision between a pickup truck and a semi-truck that occurred last week, according to KRQE.
The incident happened on U.S. Highway 62/180 between mile markers 25 and 26 southeast of Carlsbad.
Sheriff's deputies said 34-year-old Jurado Jerome Escarcega was driving a Chevy Silverado pickup truck northbound at about 12:30 p.m. in the outside lane. The Chevy drifted into the inside lane behind a Freightliner commercial motor vehicle.
Escarcega attempted to return to the outside lane but struck the rear passenger side of the CMV as it completed a left turn into the lane, investigators said.
He was pronounced dead after being transported to Carlsbad Medical Center.
The sheriff's office cited driver inattention and Escarcega’s failure to maintain traffic lanes as contributing factors in the accident
