MCKINLEY COUNTY, NM - Two drivers died after a collision on Interstate 40 in McKinley County, according to New Mexico State Police.
In a news release, State Police said the accident happened Saturday night about 12 miles from the Arizona border at approximately 9 p.m. An investigation found that 60-year-old Bret Wayne Sackett of Jordan, Utah was driving a 2020 Freightliner semi-tractor trailer on I-40 west when he exited the highway at a high rate of speed.
The Freightliner collided with the back of a 2011 GMC Sierra, pushing that vehicle into a 2017 Volvo semi-tractor trailer. Sackett and the driver of the Sierra, 31-year-old Jordan Frank of Twin Lakes, New Mexico, were pronounced dead at the scene. A 59-year-old male passenger in the Freightliner was hospitalized with undisclosed injuries. The driver of the Volvo was not injured.
State Police are continuing their investigation into the wreck, and said alcohol does not appear to have been a factor. They added that seatbelts were not properly worn.