Las Cruces Police are continuing to investigate Sunday’s two-vehicle crash involving a marked patrol unit that ultimately resulted in the death of an 83-year-old woman.
Marylou Amesquita of Las Cruces died Tuesday at University Medical Center of El Paso. Amesquita was riding as a front seat passenger in a 2002 Honda sedan that was driven by an 89-year-old woman. The driver remains hospitalized at Mountainview Regional Medical Center where both women were transported following the crash.
Amesquita and the driver of the Honda were both alert and able to walk following the crash. Amesquita was subsequently released from Mountainview but re-hospitalized at UMC. The Las Cruces Police officer involved in the crash was not injured.
The crash occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the intersection of Solano Drive and Amador Avenue. Investigators learned that the officer was in a marked police unit en route to a call and was traveling west on Amador Avenue with lights and siren activated.
An independent witness confirmed that the officer stopped at Solano Drive and waited for traffic to clear before proceeding west through the intersection.
Preliminary results from the investigation appears to indicate that the Honda was traveling north on Solano, in the outside lane of traffic, when it proceeded through the intersection and struck the rear quarter panel driver’s side of the marked Police Interceptor Utility unit at the intersection.
Amesquita’s death appears to be a result of medical complications related to the crash.
Citations are pending completion of the investigation.
Information from Las Cruces Police